To Realize a Destiny: The Journey Into Shadows
by Roschelle Templar
Summary: Third story in a trilogy which includes To Heal a Heart and To Find a Path. A series of murders and disappearances has City Hunter on the trail of a serial killer who is targeting the underground. Meanwhile, the shadows from Ryo's past become a part of the present when old enemies arrive in Shinjuku. Much more AU.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: New story. As mentioned in my summary, this is the third and final part of a trilogy of stories that include To Heal a Heart and To Find a Path. Reading those two (in that order) will be necessary to read this one. Also, as mentioned in my summary, this story will be much more in the realm of alternate universe than the previous two stories since I will be playing around a lot with events that happen in the last few volumes of the manga with some events changing dramatically (or not coming up at all) and other events remaining almost the same. If you haven't had a chance to read the last seven or eight volumes of the manga (as I know might be the case for some the English-speaking fans of City Hunter), some of this stuff might be slightly spoiler-ish, even though I am making a lot of changes. So consider yourself warned.

Otherwise, I really do hope that my readers enjoy this one. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who reads/follows/reviews this. It is always appreciated.

Chapter One

Even though Kaori Makimura knew exactly what Ryo Saeba was doing, she could not stop herself from worrying.

* * *

It had been a month and a half since Ryo entered into a deeper relationship with her, and Kaori continued to marvel at how happy she was with the way things had changed and continued to change in her life.

Earlier that evening while working on the household cleaning, Kaori contemplated how she had imagined for years what it would be like to be in a romantic relationship with Ryo, and yet she had found that none of those fantasies had truly prepared her for the reality of such a relationship. She had imagined either a radical change as the two of them transformed their roles from just working partners and roommates into lovers or a very subtle amount of change due to the fact that they had known each other for years, and thus making it so that there was little else to learn about each other.

As Kaori soon discovered, however, neither one was exactly true.

The two of them still worked various jobs as City Hunter. They still argued and bickered about how to handle clients, what kinds of jobs to do, and about a variety of miscellaneous things. Other than revealing the truth to a select group of their friends, they still hid their relationship from the world. On the surface at least, nothing had changed between them.

Still, even within those familiar routines there were differences. Kaori began to compromise by allowing more female clients while Ryo agreed to work more jobs that he would have turned down in the past, the both of these decisions ensuring that they had a much healthier flow of income these days. Also, no matter how much they fought or argued during the day, at night they always ended up in each other's arms in Ryo's bed, the both of them still secure in their belief in their love for each other, despite their disagreements. The both of them swiftly realized that things like Kaori's temper and Ryo's bad habits were not going away, but the two of them also realized that they loved each other as a whole and no longer sought to change each other into some sort of ideal.

As Kaori finished up the cleaning, a smile lit her face. She had to admit that, after years of living with Ryo, she thought she knew him almost as well as she knew herself. But these past few weeks had yielded many surprises.

She discovered that she loved it when Ryo snuck up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and nibbled at her earlobe. She also discovered that Ryo loved it when she made sure to kiss his temple and stroke his hair for a moment before leaving him in bed in the morning so she could start making breakfast. She found that she loved it when he stared at her, a smile on his face and adoration in his eyes, while she brought their latest meal to the table. She also found that Ryo loved it when she would silently hold his hand while the two of them gazed down at the city from the roof of their building.

It was these little things, these small moments of affection, that meant everything to Kaori, and she suspected that the same was true for Ryo. Instead of diluting the more direct expressions of their love, they somehow managed to make those intimate moments even sweeter.

Kaori put her cleaning supplies away and sighed as she sat down on the couch. Thinking about Ryo this way made her want to spend even more time with him, but this evening, she knew that she would be alone and that Ryo wouldn't be back any time soon.

She had gone to check the board not long after breakfast and when she got back, Ryo had announced that he had plans for the rest of the day and left promptly afterwards.

"_Ryo-chan needs some time out," _he had told her. "_Don't expect me back until late."_

Kaori wasn't happy with his decision, but she did not put up any sort of protest. She had known for a long time that there were occasions when Ryo needed time to himself and had learned to give him his space. Whether it was spending time shooting in the basement or spending the night out partying and drinking, Kaori understood that Ryo needed his solitude once in a while.

Still, the idea of him continuing to spend nights out after they had become a couple did not sit entirely well with her. Kaori worked up the courage to confess her feelings to Ryo about the matter, and Ryo showed a surprising amount of understanding by agreeing to her only two requests in relation to his nighttime activities: he was not to engage in any serious mokkori behavior with any of the women, and he would always make sure to come home so he could sleep in her arms at the end of the night. He had gone out a couple of other times over the past month, and Kaori was happy to see that Ryo was committed to keeping both of his promises.

Kaori sighed again. Despite the fact that she was pleased that Ryo was keeping up his end of their agreement, it didn't change the fact that she sometimes felt excluded when he took off for a night of fun by himself.

She sat for a moment more before shaking herself slightly and standing up. Kaori knew that it was no good to sit around and mope and decided to find something to do on her own this evening. She was walking toward her room so she could change before going out and heading for the Cat's Eye café to meet with Miki when she ran into Saeko walking up toward Ryo's floor.

"Hello, Kaori-san," Saeko smiled at her. "Is Ryo still upstairs?"

"Saeko-san, hi," Kaori replied. "No, Ryo went out a while ago. He said that he wanted to have a night out." Saeko's smile quickly vanished.

"I see," she nodded.

"You aren't thinking about asking him about a job, are you?" Kaori asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well…to be honest, there is one thing I am thinking about asking his help on," Saeko laughed nervously. "But this isn't about that. Not exactly. It's about what I called him about earlier today."

"You called?" Kaori said. "Ryo didn't mention it." Saeko's expression grew even more somber.

"I have some contacts with members of various police departments in the United States who I consult with from time to time," Saeko continued. "One of my contacts happened to have some information about a group of homicides that seemed to be part of a pattern and that also appear to be similar to a set of murders that have happened recently here in Shinjuku. Earlier this morning, I received the files of the victims that they thought might be part of this pattern."

Saeko shook her head and looked away for a moment before returning her gaze to Kaori's confused face.

"One of those victims…" she said. "One of them was Sonia Field."

"What?!" Kaori gasped, putting a hand to her chest. "Sonia? What…how did know….?"

"I remembered Miki-san mentioning her in relation to that duel Umibozu-san had with Ryo," Saeko continued. "As soon as I found out, I called Ryo to tell him the news. He didn't say much, but I could tell that he was upset."

Saeko sighed and leaned against a wall while Kaori took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.

"Unfortunately, I came tonight to talk to Ryo because I have more bad news," Saeko said. "After looking over Sonia's file and comparing it to what we have on the murders here, I am convinced that her death was the work of a serial killer who is currently operating here in Shinjuku. A serial killer who is targeting people who have any kind of ties to the underground."

Kaori bowed her head as tears pricked her eyes. Despite Sonia's initial misguided desire for revenge against Ryo for the death of her father, Kenny, Kaori did not hold a grudge against her. She understood that grief and loneliness had twisted Sonia's nature into something far from her true personality, and in the end, Sonia had done her best to help Kaori see her importance in Ryo's life. Kaori also knew that Ryo still cared about her, having known her since she was a child, and that her death would hurt him.

'_Ryo had tried so hard to make sure that Sonia stayed out of his world, out of the world her father lived in,' _she thought to herself. '_The fact that she might have gotten killed because she got involved in the underground during her quest for revenge…I'm sure Ryo feels some responsibility for her death.'_

A tear slid down Kaori's cheek. It was always painful for her to see Ryo blame himself for the tragedies in his life despite the fact that he often had little to no control or influence on their occurrence. She thought about how Umibozu had once told her that one of Ryo's biggest weaknesses is that he lets himself care too much about the people he surrounded himself with in the course of his work. Usually, Kaori found that she couldn't truly agree with Umibozu on this. She viewed his concern for and desire to protect those closest to him as a indicator of Ryo's warm heart which she considered to be one of his greatest strengths.

When dealing with Ryo's reactions to a perceived failure on his part to protect the people he cherished, however, Kaori had to admit that Umibozu might have a point.

"I'll stop by later tomorrow," Saeko said, turning to leave. "I should tell you now Kaori-san that I am thinking about asking Ryo to help me with the series of homicides and disappearances in Shinjuku that are related to Sonia's case."

"I understand," Kaori nodded, raising her head. "Don't worry. If you need City Hunter's help on this, we will be there. The both of us."

"Thank you, Kaori-san," Saeko smiled at her. "And please, take care of Ryo tonight. He is going to need you."

Kaori nodded again and watched as Saeko walked out of the building.

* * *

This led to where Kaori was now, huddled on the couch, waiting for Ryo to return. She had fallen asleep a couple of times while waiting for him and was disappointed each time she woke up when she discovered that Ryo still had not come home.

When the clock showed three am with still no sign of him, Kaori decided that she had had enough waiting.

She put on her coat and shoes and went out to find Ryo. As she walked out of the building, she heard a familiar sound come from the alley beside her. She walked over to the entrance of the alley and found that her suspicions had proved to be correct.

There toward the center of the alley, Kaori found Ryo on the ground, lying on a heap of garbage bags and scraps of cardboard boxes. His eyes were closed, and he made a sound that almost sounded like snoring, having passed out from drinking too much.

Kaori closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. She always hated finding Ryo in positions like that. She knew that whenever she found him unconscious in the middle of a pile of trash that it had not really been a fun night for him. It never ceased to annoy her, but more than that, it hurt her to see this clear sign of distress from him.

She carefully made her way toward Ryo and crouched down beside him.

"Ryo, wake up," she said. "Come on, I said wake up now."

Ryo groaned and shifted his position slightly before turning his head toward her. He cracked his eyes open and narrowed them at her.

"Leave me alone," he growled at her. His harsh tone made Kaori flinch slightly, but it also strengthened her resolve.

"Idiot," she said with a frown. "It's too cold for you to stay out here. You'll get a fever and then I'll have to take care of you and I am not in the mood for that. So come on, get up. It's time for you to come home."

Ryo scowled and looked up toward the sky.

"Home?" he scoffed. "Go away and leave me alone."

"No, Ryo," Kaori said. "You've had your time alone. Now it's time for you to stay with me. Don't forget that you made a promise. And don't think for one second that I am going to let you out of it. Now, are you going to get up and come inside or do I have to use one of my hammers?"

Ryo's scowled deepened, but he sat up and slowly rose to his feet. Kaori stood up and watched him stagger as he made his way out of the pile of garbage and she immediately moved closer to him so he could lean on her while he walked.

"Come on," she said as she guided him inside. "You're getting out of those clothes and taking a shower. You stink of alcohol and garbage."

Ryo continued to glare at her as they walked inside and she led him upstairs toward the shower. He suddenly put a hand to his mouth, however, and ran for the bathroom instead. Seconds after he dashed inside, Kaori could hear him vomiting into the toilet.

"That's what you get for drinking too much," she said as she stood next to the door. "One of these days you might actually learn something."

She stood and waited for a few more minutes until he finally stopped vomiting and she heard the toilet flush before walking inside to check on him. He was sitting on the floor, still hunched down near the toilet, his head resting against the porcelain. She bent down and put a hand on his back.

"Done?" she asked as she stroked his back. "Then let's get you cleaned up."

She helped him stand and walked with him to the shower, helping him undress and then turning on the water for him before ordering him to get into the shower. While he was there, she took his clothes and put them in the laundry before taking his gun and holster to his room. She got a shirt and a pair of boxers out of his closet and sat them near a towel outside the shower before going downstairs to change into a camisole and pajama shorts. By the time she returned, Ryo had finished and was drying himself off. Kaori blushed at the sight, but picked up another towel so she could reach up and rub his hair dry. She then tousled it back into place and Ryo turned to gaze into her eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. Kaori blushed even more, but did not avert her eyes.

"Better?" she said. "Now, it's time for you to get into bed."

Ryo dressed and Kaori took him by the hand to lead him to his bedroom. He plopped down onto his bed and sat with his legs over the side, his head down, staring at the floor. Kaori knelt down on the floor in front of him.

"Saeko-san stopped by here this evening," she said. "She told me about Sonia."

Ryo blinked and lowered his head even more, but did not respond. Kaori rose up onto her knees and put her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry, Ryo," she murmured. She rested her head against his chest and continued to hold him silently. A couple minutes later, Kaori felt Ryo put his arms around her and hold her tight against him. He pulled her up toward him, and Kaori got off the floor and joined him on the bed. Once she was there, he laid down, guiding her to lie down with him. He then drew her close to his chest and buried his face into her neck.

"Stay," he whispered. Kaori closed her eyes, a sad smile on her face, and snuggled against him.

"I'll never leave, Ryo," she assured him. "I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: No, I haven't abandoned this one, and I am sorry that I took so long to update it. I got kind of distracted by other fics and by life. :) Plus, I needed to work out a couple of plot decisions that I was still grappling with, but I am back on track and hope to update more often from now on.

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. :) Again, I do appreciate the stalking and hope that you will continue to enjoy my work, including this story. And I am glad that you are enjoying how I am progressing Ryo and Kaori's relationship. I plan on trying to show more about how I think it could have evolved with events that will come up in this fic. :) Again, I hope you will enjoy both this chapter and the rest of the ride. :)

Chapter Two

In the dead of night, a man prowled the alleyways of Shinjuku alone. He weaved in and out of corners and made sure to stay in the shadows. He watched the people mill around him on the sidewalks and flinched at the grotesque neon signs that displayed flashy names and promises of all sorts of chemical and carnal pleasures. The man, however, was distracted by none of it.

He was hunting.

Soon, he spied two woman, walking side-by-side not far from where he was lurking. Judging from their clothes and topics of conversation, the man deduced that they worked at one of the nearby cabarets. As they moved closer, the man let loose a feral smile. He had found his prey.

He followed the women for a time, waiting until they moved from the main thoroughfare of people and into a side street. He bided his time and when they strolled into the area of the alley with the least amount of light, he attacked.

"Hey, who are you? What are you….?"

Neither of them had much time to speak before the man pulled out his gun, which was equipped with a silencer. He shot one woman in the stomach and grinned as he watched her fall to the ground. The other woman received a graze to the temple, causing her to lose consciousness and slide downward onto the pavement. He knelt down next to the woman he had shot in the abdomen and leaned close to her as she writhed in pain.

"How fitting," he said. "How fitting that trash like you will have the sight of trash be the last thing you will ever see. If you tiny brain can fully grasp the appropriateness of it, you should contemplate why you ended up here in your last moments."

Tears streamed down the woman's face as she tried to speak, her voice lost in a series of hoarse moans. The man grabbed her shoulders and dragged her to a more isolated area of the alley, behind some wooden crates.

"Wh…why?" she managed to gasp out.

"Now, now, we wouldn't want anyone to find you too soon," the man said with a chuckle. "After all, it's going to take you a while to die."

The man pulled out his gun again and shot her in the ankle, immobilizing her. He waited until she became only semiconscious from the pain before finally walking away. He scooped up the other woman into his arms and slung her limp body over his shoulder.

'_This one will make for a fine hunt,' _he said, patting the woman's leg as he walked. '_This promises to be a good night.'_

* * *

The next morning, Saeko Nogami stood at the entrance of the same alleyway, frowning.

A pair of police officers on patrol had found the body of a woman a couple of hours previous, and Saeko went to the scene as soon as she heard about it. Once she was there, she was sickened to discover that her hunch had been correct.

'_Same type of shooting pattern as the other victims: once in the stomach and once in the ankle. It's probably the same person.'_

'_And yet…it's different somehow. This girl does not look like any known members of the criminal underground. So why did he choose her?'_

"Detective Nogami," one of the officers called out as he approached her. "We talked to some of the owners of the nearby cabarets. One of them recognized the picture we showed them. Apparently the woman's name is Yuko Takeda, a hostess at a bar down the street. Supposedly, she was walking home with her roommate after their shift at work."

"And yet, there is no sign of another woman here," Saeko said, shaking her head. "So what happened to the roommate?"

"Maybe she went off somewhere else and then headed home?" the officer said.

"Maybe," Saeko said. "I suppose we can hope for now that that is what happened."

The officer left to run another errand while Saeko continued to mull over this latest crime scene.

'_The victims are surfacing at a faster rate now. Whoever is doing this is escalating their attacks.'_

'_Ryo, Kaori-san…I may need you much sooner rather than later.'_

* * *

Sunlight crept in through the gap between the curtains in Ryo's room, and he blinked his eyes and stirred while letting out a soft groan. The pounding in his head told him that he had drank much more than he should have the night before, and he squeezed his eyes back shut in an effort to take the edge off the pain.

As he settled back into bed, however, Ryo became aware of soothing, soft warmth on the side of his face. He reopened his eyes and grinned as he realized that he had managed to end up with his head nestled underneath Kaori's camisole and between her breasts.

'_If only I could wake up in a mokkori position like this every morning,' _he mused as he rubbed his head back and forth, savoring the sensation. '_But I better move before she wakes up and kills me.'_

Ryo planted a feather light kiss against one breast and then carefully pulled himself off her, shifting to envelop her in his arms instead. Kaori snuggled closer to him, but did not wake up. Ryo noted that his mokkori was already aroused by the position he had just been in and by what she was doing, but he made an effort to relax and distract himself so as to not disturb Kaori. He placed another kiss on the top of her head and turned to his side so he could watch her sleep against him.

As he watched, he thought back to the previous night. After getting the phone call from Saeko about Sonia, Ryo had felt numb, thus his need to go out into the streets of Shinjuku so he could find a way to feel something. It was only after several drinks and several rounds of forced gaiety that his feelings finally started to surface: anger, sorrow, regret, blame. All of it rose up and flooded his soul.

Ryo responded by drinking even more, each swallow of alcohol one more step to dilute those feelings into something manageable. The problem was, however, that he could not drink enough to tame his emotions, not without becoming dangerously drunk, drunk enough to make himself vulnerable to his enemies. Even with alcohol clouding his brain and while grappling with these painful emotions, Ryo had the presence of mind to make sure that he did not get that intoxicated.

Instead he had wandered the streets alone, not caring about his growing nausea and disorientation or about how cold the night had become. His feet moved with little input from his brain while he brooded, and his heart continued to sink into a black pit.

Eventually his legs gave out, and Ryo fell back onto a pile of trash. After he landed, he looked around and let out a laugh as he realized that he had ended up in the alley near his apartment building.

'_Well Kaori,' _he had thought to himself. '_You wanted me back here at the end of every night. Looks like you'll get your wish.'_

He had laughed again, but there was no humor behind it. He had turned his head to look up at the sky and strained to gaze at the stars above him. He had been ready to spend the rest of the night like that until Kaori had shown up to take him inside.

Ryo tightened his hold on Kaori and closed his eyes. Even though his memories of his drinking and partying were hazy, he remembered every minute of when she persuaded him to come inside, every moment of when had stayed with him and helped him clean up and every second of when she spent the entire night in bed with him, comforting him and murmuring words of reassurance and love into his ear. Ryo knew that this is why Kaori was still asleep, despite the fact that it late morning: because she had made sure to take care of him until he finally fell into a deep sleep.

Ryo ran his hands along her back and inhaled deeply through his nose so he could take in her scent. He wondered yet again how someone like him could possibly deserve a woman like Kaori and why she had fallen in love with him. He wished that he could give her far more than the life as his partner in City Hunter and his heart, and he continued to be amazed at how happy and content Kaori was with nothing more than that. Nights like the one he had just had reminded Ryo that she was the light in his darkness, and he often tried to figure out what he was to her in return.

He opened his eyes as his thoughts drifted back again to last night. Despite the comfort Kaori had given him in her arms, Ryo could not stop thinking about Sonia. He remembered her father, Kenny's last words to him and the request he had that his daughter stay out of the underground. Ryo had tried to honor the wishes of his partner and friend, by concealing the truth behind Kenny's death and by finding ways to subtly push her toward the path of a normal life. He knew, however, that he had ultimately failed in his efforts when Sonia showed up in Japan almost a year ago, determined to avenge her father. Saeko had not given him many details, but Ryo was certain that her death was not a random event and that it was tied to him in some way.

'_Kenny sacrificed his life for his daughter's safety and happiness,'_ he thought. '_And I wasn't able to secure any of that for her or for him. An entire family gone, erased from existence, because of my carelessness…because I involved myself in their lives.'_

Ryo began to reminisce about when he was Kenny's partner, and the times he shared with him and with Sonia when she was a child. He was still recovering from the loss of his first partner, Stephen, Mary's father, and was trying to figure out what do with his life when he became reacquainted with Kenny Field, a man he had known during his days as a guerilla in Central America. Kenny had given him a chance to not only do something that benefited people for a change by having Ryo help him hunt down dangerous criminals as a bounty hunter, he had given Ryo a chance to feel like part of a family again. It was something Ryo had missed since Stephen's death and the betrayal of his father. Ryo enjoyed the chance to act as a sort of "big brother" to Sonia and enjoyed watching Kenny be a father to her, even when it reminded Ryo of the wound in his heart his own father had created, a wound that refused to heal to this day.

'_Sonia, I'm sorry. I am so sorry that I wasn't able to protect your father…that I wasn't able to ensure his last wishes for you.'_

"Ryo?"

Ryo blinked and looked down to see that Kaori had opened her eyes and was staring at him. He put a smile his face and bowed his head to kiss her.

"Kaori," he said once he was finished. "About last night…."

"It's all right," she interrupted. "I understand." She then put her hands on either side of his face, causing him to close his eyes and lean into her touch.

"Ryo, you looked so sad just now," she continued. "Were you thinking about Sonia and her father again?" Ryo let out a sigh and remained silent. He was thankful that Kaori was so concerned about his feelings, but truthfully, he did not want to further expose and probe those old wounds that he carried in his soul, not right now. He took her hands away from his face and enveloped them into both of his.

"Kaori…Saeko is investigating Sonia's murder as a part of a series of murders that happened in the United States and that have started to show up in Shinjuku," he said, opening his eyes. "I want to help her in the investigation."

"I know, Saeko-san told me about yesterday," Kaori said. "I understand, and I'm going to help you."

"No, I don't want you involved in this one," Ryo said.

"Ryo! I'm your partner. I…."

"This is different than the things we usually work on," Ryo said. "Whoever is doing this has managed to elude the police in both the US and Japan so far, which tells me that he's intelligent, methodical, and resourceful. A professional surpassing other professionals. This is going to be dangerous, and there will more than likely be many horrific things that will come to light before this is all over. I don't want to expose you to any of that."

"Ryo," Kaori said, moving her fingers to caress his. "I know that you worry about me, but you need to understand that I worry about you too. It's not just the dangerous situations you get into where you could be hurt physically. It's also about the risks to your heart and your soul. This case is not just another case because this time it involves Sonia, someone who was important and dear to you. Plus, like you said, it's going to involve a lot of horrible things, things that you will have to deal with no matter how we approach this case."

Kaori moved closer to him and extracted one of her hands from his so she could run her fingers through Ryo's hair.

"I'm your partner," she repeated. "I want…I need to be there to support you. Remember what I said, we are stronger together than we are apart."

Ryo gave her a lopsided smile. By now, he should have been used to Kaori's stubbornness, but it still managed to amaze him once in a while, even as it also frustrated him.

The more he thought about it, however, the more he was forced to admit that there was a lot of validity to her words. His instincts were warning him that there was a lot more to this whole thing than he could fathom right now, and a part of him was actually worried about his chances to make it out of all this intact both physically and mentally. Ryo soon realized that he would probably need the strength that only Kaori could give him before this was resolved and perhaps even after it was as well.

Ryo looked into Kaori's eyes and noted the determination mixed with affection there. He grabbed the hand that was in his hair and squeezed it gently.

"All right, Kaori," he said. "We'll work together on this one. But we will do it my way, understand? I'm not putting you in harm's way if I don't have to, and if things get too dangerous, you will pull back."

"I understand," Kaori nodded. "And I will make sure to not get in the way or be a burden. I've been training hard recently to become a better partner, and I promise that you won't regret working with me on this."

"Good," Ryo grinned. "Now, how about we take advantage of the fact that we are both still in bed?"

"Ryo, you insatiable pervert," Kaori smirked at him. "What about breakfast?"

"I'd rather have a mokkori breakfast," he giggled. "And I bet I can make you want one too."

Ryo's hands started to move and soon he was able to elicit a moan of pleasure out of his partner. Kaori immediately recovered, however, and frowned at him for a second before giving him a smile of resignation.

"Idiot," she murmured before wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. Ryo chuckled again and embraced her in return while running his hands along her body, confident that they wouldn't be leaving his bed for quite a while.

* * *

Meanwhile, a blond man strolled out of the Tokyo airport and onto the city streets. His flight had been an enjoyable one with many pretty stewardesses to keep him occupied, and as he looked around at the people walking to and from the airport, he spied many more intriguing possibilities for a date.

'_Japan really does have some of the most beautiful women in the world. If only this were just a vacation.'_

The man took off his sunglasses and gazed at the sky above him. A grim smile made its way onto his lips as he remembered the reason why he had come to Japan, but for now he decided that he would try to put it aside for a while and catch up with an old friend.

'_It's been a long time, Ryo Saeba. Let's see what exactly you've done with the business of City Hunter here in Shinjuku.'_

* * *

A couple hours later, Ryo scratched his head as he lounged on the couch with one of his mokkori magazines. Kaori had left a short while ago to check on the blackboard at the Shinjuku station and to get some food so she could make a large lunch to compensate for the missed breakfast. Even though he goggled and drooled at the sights offered in the pictures in front of him, he was more preoccupied with what he had just done with Kaori and the thought of that still managed to make him giggle lecherously. If anything, this magazine was only giving him some new inspirations of things he would like to try with her.

There was a knock at the door, and Ryo tossed the magazine aside while raising an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Kaori to be back quite this soon and wondered why she didn't just walk right in.

'_Maybe there was nothing at the boards and so she ended up doing a lot of shopping instead,' _he mused. '_She probably wants my help carrying everything in.'_

"Ok, coming," he yelled as he stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see, instead of Kaori, a woman he had never met before.

"Excuse me, are you Ryo Saeba?" she asked.

Ryo nodded as he took in the sight of the woman standing in front of him. She looked to be in her late twenties with medium length hair, a petite figure, and eyes that sparkled with warmth. She smiled and tilted her head slightly in response to his nod.

"I'm so glad," she said. "I've been searching for you for a long time." Ryo grinned and put an arm around her so he could pull her close to him.

"And I'm always searching for visions like you," he said. "Although, usually I am not lucky enough to have them just show up at my door." The woman laughed and pushed herself away from him.

"You certainly live up to your reputation," she said. "But before you do anything else, I think I should introduce myself. My name is Ayako Jinguji….and I am your aunt, Ryo."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Next chapter. College is still keeping me pretty busy, so I apologize for the slow updates. But I hope my readers will enjoy this long chapter. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this.

**Eve: **Thank you as always for the review. :) Well I hope to have some more surprises for you before the rest of this fic is finished, so I hope you enjoy them. :) As for Ryo, yes he is quite the pervert, and as you will see you are very close to guessing how he was going to react...;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

_Additional Notes:_

_-Otosan:_ the more formal way to address one's own father in Japanese

-_Onesan:_ the more formal way to address one's own older sister in Japanese. I know that I am not using the elongated vowel notations that are often used when romanizing these words, but I hope that anyone who didn't already know all this will get the gist. ;)

Chapter Three

Kaori walked toward the apartment building while struggling to juggle several bags of food in her arms. She had been somewhat disappointed to find no job prospects on the board earlier that day, but a few recent well-paying jobs had made it so that most of their debts were paid and their bank account was fully funded. Thus, Kaori decided to go ahead and replenish their cupboards along with getting some things for a sumptuous lunch.

'_I might have gone a little overboard,' _she thought to herself ruefully as she tried to find the best way to balance the bags as she walked. '_But it's nice to not have to worry about having enough money to buy food for a change…and knowing Ryo, he's going to be hungry after the morning he's just had.'_

Kaori sighed and rolled her eyes before smiling. A part of her was still adjusting to the idea of being the center of attention for Ryo's libido with mornings like this one serving as a strong reminder of just how insatiable he could be when it came to her. There were times, however, when she found herself slightly annoyed at Ryo's antics. These days, he tried even harder to steal her underwear, would sometimes sneak up on her while she did the household chores, and would stare at her while giggling, his mind more than likely filled with all sorts of perverted fantasies.

But any time she felt her annoyance reach the point where it truly bothered her, all Kaori had to do was remember the look of ardor in Ryo's eyes when he did any of these things, and that annoyance would evaporate away. Having witnessed Ryo's attempts at mokkori hunting for years, Kaori could see the difference between the lust that made his eyes glaze over when he looked at most women and the passion that lit up his eyes when he looked at her. She also understood that Ryo felt far more comfortable conveying his feelings for her through his actions than with words, and even though she did long at times for him to actually say the words, she could not deny that she was flattered and thrilled with how much he clearly desired her.

'_I can't believe that I'm actually excited at being that pervert's mokkori target,' _she thought to herself. _ 'He really is trying to make me as degenerated as him.'_

Kaori let out a laugh and shook her head. She was certain that she could never be as lecherous as Ryo, and she decided that it was better to focus on the meaning and emotions behind his actions than to worry too much about any greater implications.

Once she arrived home, Kaori managed to get the door open and walk into the apartment building on her own, but she quickly decided that she did not want to handle all of these groceries alone. She took the elevator up to Ryo's floor wobbled her way to his door with her stacks of bags.

"Ryo, come help me with all this," she shouted at him. Kaori was about to yell at him again when the sound of laughter reached her ears. She immediately stiffened when she realized that the laughter in question was from a woman.

"Ryo, I'm telling you the truth," the woman's voice laughed again, exasperation in her tone.

"And I'm telling you that it's not possible," Ryo replied. "So tell me, what is really going on?"

Kaori's surprise only lasted a moment, however, and soon she had dropped the groceries she was holding and was welding a giant hammer. She gritted her teeth and flung the door open to find Ryo chasing a woman around the front room. The moment he saw Kaori, Ryo stopped in his tracks and fell to his knees, holding his hands above his head.

"Kaori!" Ryo yelped. "It's not what you think."

"Ryo!" Kaori yelled. "How dare you sneak a woman into the apartment the moment I'm gone." She then swung the hammer down, and Ryo only had a second to whimper before it drove him into the floor.

"Um, I think there might be a misunderstanding," the woman said with a nervous smile.

"What kind of misunderstanding?" Kaori said, her glare turning toward the woman.

"Let me explain," she said. "My name is Ayako Jinguji, and Saeba-san here is my nephew."

Kaori's eyes widened in shock and her mouth hung open while Ryo crawled out from under the hammer that had pinned him to the floor.

"Nephew?" Kaori whispered. "But…but how…?"

Kaori then looked over at Ryo and saw that he was sitting on the floor, his head resting against one of his hands and his eyes half closed with indifference.

"Perhaps we should sit and have some coffee or something," Ayako said. "I know that this is a big shock for Saeba-san, and I think we could all use the chance to calm down."

* * *

After Ryo helped Kaori to bring the groceries into the kitchen, Kaori had insisted on making coffee and a snack for everyone. As she sliced some fruit, her mind continued to reel at what she had just heard.

'_Ryo is her nephew? He has an aunt? But…I thought that his parents were his only family and they died in a plane crash. And besides, she looks like she's younger than Ryo. How could she be his aunt?'_

Kaori's hands worked mindlessly as she tried to digest what Ayako had said. Having no family of her own, Kaori wanted to think that Ryo might be fortunate enough to not be as alone in the world as she was, especially after hearing about his tragic past from Bloody Mary. Still, this wish for Ryo could not prepare Kaori for the shock of a possible family member of his actually showing up at their door.

Once she was finished with the preparations, Kaori did her best to keep her hands steady and keep a smile on her face while she served everyone the coffee along with some fruit. Kaori then sat down next to Ryo on the couch, and they all sipped at their coffee for a moment before Ayako, who was sitting at the very end of the couch, cleared her throat.

"My mother died while giving birth to me," she said. "And my father went mad with grief over her death. He ended up dying about a year later. My father worked for a man, who was also a friend of our family, named Michihiko Jinguji. After my parents died, Jinguji-sama was kind enough to adopt me and raise me as his own child. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I found out that he probably did it to recover from a loss of his own."

Ayako leaned back in her chair and took a long drink from her mug before sitting it down.

"About twenty-seven years ago, his son, his daughter-in-law and his three year old grandson were on a plane bound for United States," she said. "The three of them were going on vacation together. But…that plane crashed somewhere in Central America. For a long time, it was thought that there were no survivors, but then a few years after it happened, my father found out that no trace of his grandson was ever found in the wreckage. Ever since that time, my father has been searching for his missing grandson: Ryoichi Jinguji."

Kaori's clutched her hands in her lap as she listened to Ayako. She thought about all the similarities between Ayako's story and what she had learned from Mary about Ryo's past. Kaori looked over at Ryo and was surprised to see the same impassive expression on his face that he had had earlier.

"As I grew older, I decided that I would do everything I could to help my father in his search," Ayako continued. "I apprenticed with a private investigator just so I could gain the skills needed to assist my father with his quest. It has taken me years, but my search finally let me to you, Saeba-san." She then leaned toward Ryo, her eyes glittering with intensity.

"I know that you were orphaned at a young age," Ayako added. "And that you spent your childhood in Central America fighting as part of a guerrilla group. I am certain that you are the grandson my father has been trying to find for all these years."

"And how did you learn so much about me?" Ryo said, glowering at her. Kaori flinched at the harsh tone in his voice.

"How I found out doesn't matter," Ayako insisted. "What matters is that you have a grandfather who desperately wants to see his grandson again. You have a family." Ayako then reached into her purse and pulled out a photo from her wallet. She sat it down on the coffee table and pushed it toward Ryo with her fingertips. Kaori looked down to see that it was a picture of a couple holding a small boy in their arms, and she blinked as she realized that the child in the photograph looked a lot like Ryo.

"Ryo…." Kaori whispered looking back over at him again. Ryo let out a sigh and stood up from the couch.

"I am sorry that you wasted so much time," he said with a wan smile. "But I'm afraid that you have mistaken me for someone else. It'd be better if you…."

"I am not wrong," Ayako interrupted. "I am sure that you are Ryoichi Jinguji, no matter what you say. Maybe you can't believe me, but I ask that you come with me to meet with my father. He told me a long time ago that if he ever met up with his grandson, he had a way of verifying his identity. All I am asking for is a chance to end my father's suffering. "

Ryo turned away from her and walked over to the window at the other side of the room.

"Ayako-chan, my name is Ryo Saeba," he said, his back toward her. "And I am not the person you and your father are looking for."

"You're so sure of that," Ayako said with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why?" Ryo turned his head to glance back at her.

"It's simple," he smirked. He then turned back toward her, and both Ayako and Kaori turned red when they saw a pronounced bulge in his pants.

"My mokkori radar is never wrong," he giggled. "There's no way that it would react like this if you were family." He then bounced over to Ayako and grabbed both of her hands.

"So, how about we forget all this nonsense and go have a drink together?" he grinned. "Then I can show you some great hotels where we can…."

Ryo did not have a chance to finish his sentence, however, before another hammer slammed him into the wall.

"Do you actually try to be a national shame all the time?" Kaori growled at him. "Or has it just become a habit for you?"

"Ha ha, I guess I just have a natural talent," Ryo mumbled as he slid down the wall onto the floor.

"I think I should go for now," Ayako said, standing up from the couch. "I understand that you might need time to think about all of this. I will stop by here tomorrow, and maybe we could have lunch together. We still have much to talk about, Saeba-san…or I should say, Ryoichi-chan."

Ryo rubbed a growing lump on his head and scowled as she smiled and walked out the door. Kaori collapsed back onto the couch and picked up the picture that was still lying on the coffee table. The longer she stared at it, the more the boy in the photo looked like Ryo to her.

"Ryo," she murmured. "Are you really sure that Jinguji-san is wrong about this? I mean, her story…it seems like too much of a coincidence to not be true." Ryo stood up and brushed himself off before walking back over to the window and looking outside.

"Dummy, of course she's wrong," he frowned. "So now the question is, what is her real story….and why is someone following her?"

Kaori turned to ask him what he meant by that, but Ryo quickly headed for the door.

"Ah…Ryo….I …."

"I'll be back later," Ryo said. "If Saeko calls, tell her I'll meet her at the usual spot tomorrow morning." Ryo then dashed out the door, leaving Kaori alone.

Kaori sighed and went back to studying the picture in her hand. The man and woman in the photo were smiling, and Kaori was certain that they were in love with each other and that they cherished the child that they were holding. The boy had a radiant smile, his eyes wide and full of laughter.

'_Is this what your childhood was like before that horrible day, Ryo?' _she wondered. '_Were you happy with your parents who loved and adored you?'_

Kaori lowered the photo, her heart suddenly heavy. Even though her parents were gone by the time she was only about five years old, Kaori still had some distant memories of being happy with them. After that, her childhood was filled with the nurturing and supportive presence of her brother. Kaori thought again about what Mary had said to her, and she wondered if Ryo had any happy memories of his own childhood.

'_How could he?' _she scoffed inwardly. '_Having to grow up with a gun in his hand, having no family of his own, having to spent all his days fighting for his life…how could anyone have any happy memories from something like that?'_

Kaori looked up and the door and frowned. She knew that Ryo expected her to stay home and wait for him, but she could not bring herself to go along with this idea. She rose to her feet, grabbed her purse, and put on her shoes before running out the door.

* * *

Ayako walked for almost a mile before finally pausing to use a pay phone. She dialed a number and was not surprised when there was an answer only after a couple of rings.

"I've got great news, _otosan_," she said into the receiver. "I think I have finally found your grandson. No…no I can't say for sure yet, but it does look very promising…No, no I think you should wait until I talk to him some more before meeting him…I promise to keep you updated though….And I will tell him that too….I will talk to you again in a couple days. Goodbye, _otosan_."

Ayako hung up the phone and went back to walking down the street. She scanned her surroundings briefly before shaking her head. Even though she couldn't see him, she knew that she was being followed and that it was the same person who had been following her since she arrived in Tokyo. She also knew why she was being followed and what it meant for her.

Ayako lifted her head and let out a long sigh. She suspected that she wouldn't have much time to carry out her plans and was hoping that she could continue to elude her fate for a short while longer.

* * *

Kaori walked as fast as she could along the streets of Shinjuku for several minutes before finally giving up and stopping near an intersection. She had not been able to find any trace of Ryo or Ayako, and she realized that it was unlikely at this point that she would be able to find them since she had no idea where either of them was going.

Kaori's shoulders slumped and she sighed. As she stood there, she realized that she was not far from the Cat's Eye café, and Kaori decided to stop by on the faint chance that she might run into Ryo.

A couple minutes later, Kaori walked in and smiled when she saw Miki and Umibozu standing behind the counter.

"Ah, Kaori-san, how are you today?" Miki asked as Kaori sat down at the counter. "And how is Saeba-san?"

"We're good, thank you," Kaori nodded. Kaori considered telling Miki about the visitor she and Ryo had just had, but quickly decided that it would be better to keep that to herself for now.

"Falcon and I were talking earlier about how it's been a while since the four of us have had dinner together," Miki said.

"And how peaceful it's been as a result," Umibozu smirked.

"Falcon," Miki scolded. "Anyway, Kaori-san, would you like to have dinner with us here sometime soon? Just us and you and Saeba-san?"

"We'd love that, thank you Miki-san," Kaori beamed. "I'll just have to make sure to remind Ryo so he won't make some other idiotic plans that evening."

Miki laughed and smiled, and Kaori knew that Miki did not take her words too seriously. Both her and Ryo realized a couple of weeks ago that Miki, Umibozu, Saeko, and Kasumi knew the truth of their relationship with Reika, the professor and Kazue finding out not much longer after that. Ever since that point, both Kaori and Ryo had had to put up with plenty of good-natured prying and teasing, but neither of them minded it all that much. Not in the face of all the good will and support the two of them had received from their friends.

"Ah, Kaori-san, how are you?"

Kaori looked behind her to see Saeko and Reika walk into the café. The two of them sat down next to Kaori.

"Saeko-san, Reika-san, hi," Kaori said. "I'm fine. And you?"

"We're fine," Reika replied.

"Actually, we were looking for Ryo," Saeko said. "Do you know where he is?"

"No, I'm sorry, Saeko-san," Kaori said, shaking her head. "But Ryo wanted me to tell you that he would meet you tomorrow morning at the usual spot. Is this about Sonia? About the serial killer?"

"Yes," Saeko said, her tone grave. "There was another murder and another woman has disappeared. I was hoping that Ryo could get some information from his contacts in Shinjuku."

"He's… he's checking on something else right now," Kaori said, hesitant to tell her the full story.

"That's ok, I can talk to him tomorrow," Saeko smiled at her.

"Oh, you don't know where he is, Kaori-san?" Reika said with a smirk. "He didn't tell you where he was going?"

"Um, no," Kaori said. "He…he just had some things he needed to do."

"Things that he couldn't tell you about, huh?" Reika continued. "And here I thought that you were his partner in all things. But maybe there are still some things he keeps from you?"

Reika leaned toward Kaori, her smirk growing.

"You know, Saeba-san spent a lot of time with a variety of beautiful women for years before you came along, and even after you came along," she said. "I wonder if he can really be happy with just one woman."

"Reika-san!" Miki gasped. "What are you saying?" Reika waved a hand at Miki and tilted her head at Kaori.

"He still goes out by himself, doesn't he?" she said. "Does he actually tell you about the places he goes and the people he spends time with…or do you just hope that he isn't seeing other women? Are you just hoping that he won't wake up one day and realize that he's bored?"

Kaori gulped, a large bead of sweat rolling off her forehead. At first, she had wanted to yell and throw things at Reika as she said all of this. The more Reika said, however, the more Kaori began to wonder if she might have a point. Kaori opened her mouth to speak, but could not produce anything beyond a low squeak.

Unable to face her friends for another moment, Kaori got up and dashed out of the café.

"Reika-san, how could you?" Miki said. "You know that's not how it is between her and Saeba-san."

"Is it?" Reika sulked. "And how do you know? Why exactly is Kaori-san so special anyway? Is it just because she's Makimura's sister?"

Miki glared at her and was about to respond when she was cut off by Saeko slapping Reika in the face.

"_Onesan_!" Reika said, holding her cheek.

"Don't ever bring Makimura into one of your petty arguments again," Saeko said. "Now, I know that you are still jealous and upset over how things turned out, Reika, but that does not give you the right to act that way. Besides…if you really loved Ryo, you would be able to see how happy Kaori-san makes him and you would be glad that he is able to enjoy that kind of happiness after everything he's been through…after everything he's done for all of us."

Reika frowned and stormed out of the café. Saeko slumped down her stool and put a hand to her head.

"Saeko-san," Miki said. "Thank you for what you said…and I'm sorry…I know that Makimura-san and you…."

"It's all right. I'm fine," Saeko said. "Right now, I'm more worried about Kaori-san…and about Ryo."

* * *

Kaori ran faster and faster down the sidewalk, her heart pounding and her eyes clouded with tears.

'_Even if I don't want to think about it…Reika-san is right. Ryo…he's been with so many women, many of them much more beautiful, more exciting, and more amazing than me.'_

Kaori swiped at a tear running down her face and was barely able to dodge a man who crossed the street in front of her. She was far from blind to how women reacted to Ryo when he actually turned off his perverted persona and tried to use a modicum of his charm on them. Even many of their clients who had been exposed to his mokkori antics still managed to fall in love with Ryo, and it was only Ryo's staunch refusal to make any sort of commitment that kept them at bay.

"_Are you just hoping that he won't wake up one day and realize that he's bored?"_

Kaori sniffled and increased her speed. Despite his reputation and his actions in the past, she remained confident that Ryo would remain true to his commitment to her. But she was not as sure that he could be truly content with her. Kaori continued to try to find new ways to make Ryo happy, but she also knew that she would never be as imaginative or adventurous as many of women from Ryo's past.

'_The best I can usually come up with is dinner at home with an evening spent watching a movie with him on the couch. How long is Ryo going to be happy with someone like that? With a life as dull as that?'_

_'When is he going to regret settling with me?'  
_

Fresh tears filled her eyes, blinding her. As a result she was not able to stop herself from running into a tall, blonde man who was walking in front of her. Kaori was knocked down to the ground, and the man immediately turned around, held out a hand, and helped her up.

"I'm sorry," Kaori said, wiping at her eyes as she got back to her feet. "It's my fault, I was…."

She stopped when the man took off his sunglasses and gazed at her with a pair of vivid blue eyes.

"It's all right," the man smiled at her. "But I must say that a beautiful woman like you shouldn't be crying like this."

"Beautiful?" Kaori blushed, putting her hands to her face. "Oh no…."

"Ah, but where are my manners?" the man said. "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mick Angel…and if you will permit me, I'd like to help you find a way to put an end to those tears."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Next chapter. This fic seems to be growing longer than I originally thought it would be, but I hope that my readers won't mind the length. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**MandyNormande: **Bonjour and thank you for the review. :) I am glad that you are enjoying my somewhat AU trilogy of City Hunter. It's been a lot of fun to imagine just how Ryo and Kaori's relationship would play out while still working as City Hunter and dealing with all that would come with it. And hopefully, you will enjoy the fact that this part will be the longest one yet of the trilogy, so it will be around for a while. :) I do enjoy hearing from my French readers and I am surprised and thrilled that I seem to have a following in that part of the world...Also, I am glad that you feel that I am keeping things in character with the original work since that was very important to me even though I was writing in a somewhat alternate universe style...Anyway, thank you again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter and my future work as well. :)

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. :) I have often thought that Kaori does at times feel that she is not enough of a woman or a partner for Ryo and that that kind of insecurity would not necessarily go away the moment they became a couple. But as this chapter will illustrate, sometimes Kaori does not always know Ryo's perspective on her...Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and other updates as well. :)

Chapter Four

Kaori blinked several times at Mick, who continued to have a dazzling smile on his face. She couldn't help but be flattered by his offer, but another part of her felt a vague sort of guilt at how excited she had been over Mick's attentiveness to her.

"It's all right," she smiled at him. "I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry about me."

"Ah, now, why don't I believe you?" Mick said, waving a finger at her. "You clearly have the look of a woman with something weighing heavily on her mind. So please, tell me what is troubling you. I promise you that I am a very good listener."

Kaori blushed at the intense way that he stared at her while he spoke. She couldn't deny that he was handsome and charming, but she also worried that she was somehow betraying Ryo by letting Mick's charm affect her so much.

"I understand," Mick continued. "I'm a stranger, and you can't confide in someone you don't even know. So how about we go for a walk? Then we can tell each other a little about ourselves and we won't be strangers anymore. What do you say?"

Mick grinned at her again, and Kaori soon smiled at him in return. There was something familiar about Mick's demeanor, and she found it impossible to not be drawn to him.

"All right," she said. "How about we get a drink or something?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryo paced along the streets of Shinjuku, frowning. At first, it had been a simple thing to follow Ayako's movements and track the shadow that was following her. But then, it was as if the person following her was aware of Ryo's presence and began trying to dodge him. Ryo tried his best to keep a bead on the person trailing her and was able to discern that it was a man before starting to lose track of his mark. Eventually, the man disappeared without a trace and Ryo had spent almost an hour trying to pick up the man's trail again to no avail.

'_I underestimated this guy,' _Ryo smirked to himself. '_But I have a feeling that this is not the end of it…and I won't make that mistake again.'_

Ryo let out a sigh and looked up to see that he was a few feet from one of his favorite bars. He shrugged his shoulders and decided to drop in for a couple of drinks to see what the latest news and rumors on the street were.

* * *

A few yards in the distance, a man grinned, his eyes glittering with malice, as he watched Ryo walk into the nearby bar.

'_It's been a while since I've had to work so hard to get rid of a shadow,' _he thought to himself. '_I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun.'_

'_Ryo Saeba…I've been waiting a long time to meet someone like you. This game is getting more interesting by the minute….'_

'_And I promise you…As an opponent, I will not disappoint you….'_

* * *

Kaori continued to walk alongside Mick down the sidewalk and into the park. They stopped at one point to buy a pair of drinks from a vending machine and sat down on a bench to enjoy them.

"So you're from the United States?" Kaori said after taking a long sip. "I have to say that your Japanese is very good."

"Thank you," Mick smiled as he raised his can to his lips. "I used to work with a guy who is Japanese, so I learned a lot from him."

"You did?" Kaori said. "What kind of work do you do?" Mick smiled at her again, but this time Kaori noticed that he flinched a little while he did it.

"My work…it's complicated," Mick said. "But you strike me as someone who can handle the truth." He leaned toward her, his eyes even more intense.

"In my world, I am referred to as a sweeper," he said. The moment he said this, Kaori's jaw dropped.

"A sweeper?" she gasped. "Just like Ryo."

"Ryo?" Mick said, his expression suddenly serious. "Do you mean Ryo Saeba?"

Kaori turned red, and she clamped her hands over her mouth. Something in Mick's tone made her regret the way she had blurted that out and once again she felt inept as Ryo's partner.

"I…I…." she stammered between her fingers. She then gulped and forced herself to laugh.

"Don't mind me," she said as she forced herself to smile. "I don't know what I am talking about. I've never heard of a Ryo Saeba. And…and I don't know anything about sweepers…."

"Ah Kaori, you are such a charming woman, but not a very good liar," Mick smiled at her. "Tell me, how do you know Ryo?"

"I swear, I don't know what you are talking about," Kaori insisted, her face red. Mick nodded and slurped down the rest of his drink before tossing the can into the garbage and leaning close to her.

"It's all right," he said to her. "You can tell me the truth."

Kaori remained silent, beads of sweat on her forehead. Something inside of her told her that she could probably trust Mick, but years of working with Ryo made her wary of anyone who was not a client asking questions about him.

"I see. You are trying to protect him," Mick said. "That is noble of you. But do not worry. The truth is, I've known Ryo for years. Remember how I mentioned that I used to have a partner who was Japanese? That was Ryo, actually."

"You were Ryo's partner?" Kaori replied.

"Yes," Mick said. "A long time ago, when Ryo was living in the United States, I worked with him in the underground as a sweeper. We were best friends as well as partners. So you see, you can tell me the truth."

"The truth," Kaori said. "I…the truth is…I'm his partner now."

"You?!" Mick gasped, his eyes wide. "You work with Ryo?!" Kaori's face turned a deeper shade of red and she bowed her head down.

"I know," she mumbled. "You don't believe that someone like me could be his partner." Mick frowned at her tone and downcast face.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Please do not misunderstand my reaction. I was just surprised to learn that you are a sweeper too."

"I…I'm not really a sweeper," Kaori said, clutching her fingers around the can in her hands. "I'm more like Ryo's assistant."

"Assistant? All right, I think I understand," Mick replied. "Still, I see that Ryo hasn't changed one bit. Always making sure to surround himself with the prettiest women."

Kaori blushed again as she rose to her feet and threw her can away. The two of them then walked out of the park back toward the streets. She wasn't used to a man lavishing her with compliments. Even now, as a couple, Ryo would rarely say anything to her like this, and once again, Reika's words haunted her. She couldn't help but wonder if Ryo was as excited by her as Mick seemed to be.

"Now that we know more about each other, I think it's time to celebrate our new friendship," Mick grinned. "Don't you think?"

"Celebrate?" Kaori replied. "Celebrate how?"

"How? Why, in the best way imaginable," Mick laughed as he put an arm around her waist and guided her along. Kaori was about to ask what he meant by that when she suddenly realized that he was leading her toward a street filled with a variety of love hotels.

'_I should have known,' _Kaori sighed as she began to frown. '_After all, he did say that he was Ryo's best friend.'_

"I sure could use a chance to relax," Mick said, yawning dramatically and yanking her close to him. "After all, I did just arrive this morning after a long flight from the United States. So why don't we….?"

Mick's words immediately halted, however, when he saw the giant hammer in Kaori's hands.

"What…what is that?" he gasped, pointing at the hammer.

"This?" Kaori smirked. "Oh nothing. It just tends to appear whenever there are perverts around."

"Perverts?" he replied. "I assure you that I am not….."

Kaori started to lift the hammer over her head, and Mick laughed nervously, a giant bead of sweat falling off his forehead. He then took a step back from her.

"Say, it's getting pretty late in the day," Mick stammered, his eyes still fixed on the hammer. "Maybe we should think about getting something to eat instead."

Kaori blinked, the hammer disappearing from her grasp, and Mick was visibly relieved.

"It is late," she said. "Ah Mick, I'm sorry, but I need to…."

"You have other things you need to do," he nodded. "That's fine. I understand. I'm sure that I will be seeing you later."

Mick waved at her and turned to walk away. Kaori gulped and took a couple of steps toward him.

"Mick…are you planning on seeing Ryo?" she asked. "Is that why you came to Japan?"

"I suppose you could say that's part of the reason," Mick said without looking at her. "Until later, Kaori."

Mick strolled away, and Kaori watched him with a confused look on her face. She still did not know how to feel about what had just happened and decided to keep it to herself for now until she had a better idea of what Mick's motives were.

Kaori let out a sigh and headed toward the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryo walked up to Reika's office and knocked on the door. Reika opened the door and the frown on her face quickly disappeared.

"Hello Ryo," she beamed at him. "What's up? Would you like to go out for drinks or maybe something a little more….?"

"Sorry Reika-chan," Ryo smiled at her. "I'm afraid I don't have time today. I need you to work on something for me."

"I don't know," she said. "I am pretty busy these days. I can't take time out of my schedule just to do you a favor."

"Don't worry," Ryo said. "I plan on paying you for your time." Reika walked over and put her hands on his chest and shoulder.

"Oh, and yet you say that you don't have time for me now," she cooed. "How do I know for sure that you'll pay my fee? Because it's not money that I want."

Ryo stiffened his posture, his smile fading. He knew what Reika was driving at, and he didn't relish what was sure to come next.

'_It's my own fault,' _he told himself. '_I should have been more straightforward with her before now.'_

Ryo let out a sigh and reached for Reika's hands. She started to grin, but then realized that Ryo was pushing her away.

"Reika," he said quietly. "Kaori is my partner…in every sense of the word. Do you understand? I cannot and will not give you the kind of fee you are asking for. Now, I am willing to pay you your normal fees for this kind of work, and I will say that I will greatly appreciate this favor. But if you can't accept my terms, I will be forced to ask someone else for help."

Reika wrenched her hands away from his and turned her back toward him.

"I thought that I meant something to you," she said.

"You do, you always will, Reika," Ryo said gently.

"You mean 'let's be friends and all that'," she scoffed. "That isn't what I wanted, Ryo. I…I wanted so much more than that."

"I'm sorry," Ryo said in the same soft tone. "But that is something I can never offer you." Ryo turned and started to walk out of Reika's office, but a sound from her stopped him.

"Tell me one thing, Ryo," she said. "Are you really serious about all this? This commitment you've made? You the so-called Shinjuku Stallion, the man who said that he wanted to be Japan's number one playboy….Does Kaori mean that much to you?"

"No, not just that much," Ryo replied. "She is far more to me than just that. Far more."

Ryo started to walk away again, but paused when Reika put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a slight smile on her face while her eyes shined with tears.

"All right," she said. "Then I accept your terms. What do you need me to do?"

"Reika, I…." Reika shook her head and put a pair of fingers to his lips.

"It's fine," she said, her voice unsteady. "I guess a part of me thought that this was another game or fad for you. But now I see the truth…and I know that I can't compete with that…nor do I want to…So tell me, what is it that you need me to do?"

Ryo smiled at her again for a brief moment before speaking.

"I need you to find out everything you can about a woman named Ayako Jinguji," she said. "I can tell you that she was adopted and that she apprenticed under another private detective."

"Is this related to the case my sister is working on?" Reika asked.

"No, this is something different," Ryo said. "But it's very important to me."

"I understand," Reika nodded. "I will get right on it…Oh and Ryo."

"Hmmm?"

"Don't think that I'll be giving you some kind of discount just because we're friends," Reika smirked at him. "Business is business after all." Ryo managed to smile back at her.

"Of course," he said. "I wouldn't dream of thinking otherwise."

* * *

A short while later, Ryo walked into the front room on his floor of the apartment building and could hear Kaori working in the kitchen. He smiled and sneaked into the kitchen to see her standing at the counter. He giggled quietly and crept up behind her and once he got close, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Kaori gasped slightly and dropped the knife she was holding onto the counter.

"I'm back," he murmured into her ear before kissing her neck. "Is that dinner?"

"Ryo, you startled me," Kaori snapped.

"I'm sorry," Ryo said, his tone contrite. Kaori sighed and put her hands on the counter.

"It's all right," she mumbled. "Did you find out anything about Jinguji-san?"

"Not yet, but I will," Ryo said, tightening his hold. "Do you want me to set the table?"

"No it's fine," Kaori said, her voice tight and rushed. "Go ahead and relax. I'll take care of everything."

Ryo's expression grew quizzical at her tone, and he found himself worried at the way she was acting. But he also knew better than to try to talk to her about serious matters while she was trying to cook. He bent down to bury his face into the crook of her neck for one last moment before lifting his head and letting her go. He then backed out of the room and decided to head down to the basement to practice shooting for a while before eating.

* * *

After he had left, Kaori slumped down against the counter and rubbed her eyes.

'_Ryo was just trying to be affectionate, and look how I responded: by practically shoving him away. I spent years hoping and dreaming of the moment when he would act like this toward me, and now that it's here, I treat him like that. He might not be unfaithful to me, but I'm certainly giving him every reason to consider it.'_

Kaori looked down at the food she had started to prepare for their dinner. It occurred to her that, once again, all she had to offer him tonight was a hot meal and an evening at home.

'_The same as most nights,' _she thought gloomily. '_I'm sure he misses the excitement he used to have where he went partying in bars and cabarets all the time and when he got to be with beautiful, adventurous women.'_

'_How could he not be bored with this life? With me?'_

Kaori felt tears leak out of her eyes despite her efforts to hold them in. She thought again about her encounter with Mick and shook her head.

'_If he had spent more time with me, he probably would have gotten bored eventually too.'_

Kaori wiped her tears away and picked up her knife so she could get back to making dinner. Deep down, she knew that part of the reason she tried to tell herself this was because she still felt conflicted and somewhat ashamed over how she acted around Mick and the feelings the meeting had stirred up.

Desperate to think of anything else, she turned her attention to the vegetables she was slicing. At the very least, she figured that she should make sure that dinner was edible tonight.

* * *

After spending almost thirty minutes practicing in the basement, Ryo went upstairs to see Kaori putting the food on the table. The two of them then shared a quiet meal with Ryo trying to figure out why Kaori was so subdued.

'_Was it something I did?' _he wondered. '_Maybe she's still upset with how I acted with Ayako-chan. Or maybe she's still worried that that woman could be my aunt?'_

Ryo shoved some food in his mouth to conceal a sigh. He wanted to find out what was bothering Kaori and make it better, but he could not find the words to ask her. It was then that he remembered how much he did not enjoy trying to navigate issues like these and why he usually avoided talking too much about feelings.

'_Besides, chances are if I try to guess what is going on, I'll guess wrong and make it worse. So maybe I should just wait until Kaori decides to tell me.'_

As he finished his meal, Ryo decided that the best thing he could do for now is continue to be as attentive as possible, and perhaps try a little harder yet in that area. Once they were both done eating, Ryo jumped up to help clear the table before Kaori could say anything as was about to offer to help with dishes but was shoved out of the kitchen.

Unsure of what to do, Ryo slumped on the couch and waited for Kaori to finish. He stayed that way until she walked out of the kitchen. He did not take his eyes off her as he laid down on the couch and tilted his face toward her. He stared at her for a long minute until she walked over and sat down near the end of the couch, next to his head. Ryo then scooted toward her so that he could rest his head and her lap and then closed his eyes as she began to stroke his hair.

This had become a routine for them almost every evening. After dinner, after the chores were done for the day, Ryo would relax like this on the couch and Kaori would tend to him this way for anywhere between a half hour and an hour. It was something Ryo looked forward to every day, and he swiftly learned to hate it when a case made it impossible for the two of them to keep this ritual.

Ryo let out a long contented sigh as Kaori's fingers danced through his hair. This time spent with Kaori had become an oasis of peace in his world. Here, he could truly let go and allow himself to just enjoy being alive and being in love. The only thing Ryo regretted about this time was that it always seemed so short. He could not get enough of the pleasurable calm this gesture produced inside of him.

Suddenly, he felt Kaori's fingers hesitate before continuing to massage his scalp. He knew what had made her pause: the scar on his head from Umibozu's bullet grazing him. The first couple of times she had done this, Ryo wondered if perhaps she was repulsed by the look and feel of this scar or by the way that his hair never completely grew back in that area. It wasn't until later that he realized that it wasn't the appearance of his scar that bothered her, it was the fact that it existed at all. For Kaori, it served as a visceral reminder of how closely he walked with death at all times and how she could lose him in an instant.

Ryo smiled slightly as Kaori then started to gently trace her fingers along the scar. He knew that it was her way of letting him know that it did nothing to diminish how handsome he was in her eyes. He did wish, however, that she could let go of all the worries that she attached to it. To Ryo, this scar marked a turning point in his life when he decided to learn to live instead of just survive. It was the beginning of the push he needed to open his heart to Kaori. It was nothing in the face of everything he had gained from that moment onward.

Time passed and eventually Kaori's movements began to slow. Ryo knew that this moment was drawing to an end, and even though it was tinged with regret, he was happy at the release he had been given from the day's tensions.

Ryo sat up and embraced her while giving her a tender kiss. They shared a couple more before Ryo finally opened his eyes and stroked her cheek.

"Do you want to watch some television?" he asked her. Kaori shrugged her shoulders and then nodded. Ryo reached for the remote and turned the TV on while drawing her close to him so he could snuggle with her as they watched. A year ago, he couldn't imagine being able to relish the simple joys of being able to spend leisurely time with the person he loved. Before that, he had always watched with jealousy at how other couples could share these little moments with each other without worry, fear or apprehension. It was in these moments that he could feel like he was more than just a professional whose only purpose was to kill.

Ryo wrapped his arms around her again and was relieved to finally see a smile on Kaori's face. Most people only saw City Hunter and all that came with it when they looked at him, but Kaori only seemed to see Ryo Saeba, a person not totally unlike everyone else. Despite everything she had learned about him and his past, she still treated him like an ordinary man, and Ryo knew that he could never really explain to her how much he cherished her and these moments when he felt wonderfully human.

Kaori laughed at something she saw on the television, and Ryo smiled at the sound. He let out a deep breath and relaxed even more into the couch, eager to spend the rest of the evening and night enjoying these quiet domestic moments with the woman who was at the center of his heart.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Next chapter. Sorry this one took a little longer to put up.

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review, as always. :) I agree that, despite her growing maturity and skill level in a professional sense, Kaori does seem to keep some of her naivete and innocence despite everything she comes into contact with through her work in City Hunter, and I often think that that is part of her appeal to Ryo... Ha ha, well I like to think that maybe I will disappoint less in the future. :) Oh and to address a point you made on my one-shot, thank you so much for your very kind review. Even though they ended that two-parter with Ryo standing alone on the docks, I could see him still having a moment like the one I wrote later on. Thus why I wanted to keep so much unsaid between them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter Five

Later that night, Ryo and Kaori went to bed with nothing more than a long embrace and a series of kisses. Ryo had wanted more, but he knew that it would probably be better to suppress his desire given Kaori's mood. Instead, he contented himself with enveloping her in his arms and holding her close to him. He was restless at first, but was eventually lulled to sleep by the sound her breathing.

His slumber was far from a peaceful one, however, and soon he was immersed in nightmares. Memories from his time spent in Central America rose to the surface and soon, his mind was filled with images of carnage, cries of pain, and the smell of blood and gun smoke.

His nightmares soon became focused on one horrific day, a day when he had not been able to stop himself from massacring an entire battalion of men. Ryo wanted desperately to regain control of his body, but the drug coursing through his blood drowned his ability to reason or to have any power over his actions. In a corner of his mind, he watched helplessly as he butchered one person after another, violently and painfully. Many of them pleaded for mercy, but Ryo was unable to offer it to any of them.

All throughout this, a voice echoed in his brain, strong and insistent. The voice encouraged him to kill, to slaughter without hesitation, to eliminate anyone who stood in his way.

'_No, no stop this,' _Ryo begged silently. '_Please don't make me do this. Please help me.'_

"Ryo?"

'_Please help me…oyaji….'_

"Ryo! Wake up!"

Ryo's eyes burst open, his breathing ragged. He felt a hand touch his arm, and while still in the grip of his dreams, his instincts took over. He grabbed the wrist attached to the hand and shoved the body that was next to him toward the ground while keeping a firm hold on the arm. It wasn't until he had sat up, the wrist still his grasp, and looked down at the floor that he realized that it was Kaori that he had thrown to the carpet.

"Ryo," she gasped in pain as he wrenched her arm behind her back.

Ryo immediately let go, his eyes widening in terror, disgust filling him.

'_What have I done?'_

Ryo jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. The ugly truth was that he knew exactly what he had done. He had hurt Kaori. If he hadn't fully woken up when he did, it could have been far worse than what would probably end up being a couple bruises and a sore arm, and that thought terrified him.

He lurched into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. After he was done, he flushed and sank down onto the floor. His mind was still trying to recover from the memories that had been dredged up and what had just happened with Kaori only intensified the emotions that were close to overtaking him.

'_No matter what I pretend to be, no matter how I try to change in my life, I am and always will be a killer,' _he told himself. '_What happened tonight…what could have happened to Kaori…that is just another part of how dangerous it is for her to be with me in this kind of relationship.'_

'_I have to make sure that she stays safe…'_

"Ryo, are you all right?" Kaori shouted at him from the hallway. "Open the door."

Ryo moaned and ran his hands over his face. Honestly, he did not want to face her right now. He didn't want to look at her face and see the concern and love there for him after he had just assaulted her.

But he also knew that he couldn't stay in the bathroom all night, if only because he knew that Kaori was stubborn enough to stay right outside the door until he came out to her no matter how long that took.

Ryo picked up himself up and shuffled over to the door. He took a deep breath and removed any trace of emotion from his features before turning the knob. As soon as the door was completely opened, Kaori rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Ryo," she repeated. "Are you all right?" Ryo took her by the arms and pushed her away. Before letting go of her, he turned her hands around and looked at her wrist. He could still see the marks from where he had grabbed her.

"You should sleep in your room tonight," he told her.

"Ryo, I…."

Ryo turned and walked down the stairwell toward the kitchen. Once he was there, he pulled some whiskey and a glass out of the cupboards. He then moved to the front room and sat down on the couch, pouring himself a glass. Seconds later, Kaori walked into the room and stood in front of him.

"Ryo, please," she said. "We need to…."

"Kaori," he said, his voice cold. "Leave me alone."

"No," Kaori said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Not until you talk to me. Ryo, something is troubling you, something that made you have a terrible nightmare. Please, tell me what is going on. Please don't hide from me."

"You, you are one to talk about concealing things," Ryo replied, his tone bitter. "You who spent most of the evening locked up in your own world, unwilling to tell me what was bothering you or why you don't seem to want to be with me. Are you going to tell me what is going on inside your head?"

Kaori turned red and bowed her head. Ryo nodded in response and drank his glass of whiskey in one gulp before pouring himself another one. He started to drink that one as well when a pang of regret caused his heart to ache.

"Kaori," he said, his voice softer. "Forget what I just said. I just…I need to be alone tonight. Please."

"All right, Ryo," she murmured. "I'm going back to bed, your bed. You're welcome to join me if you change your mind."

Kaori walked out of the room, and Ryo finished what was in his glass before setting it on the coffee table and putting his head in his hands. He hated what he had done and how he had just acted with her, but he also did not want to risk hurting her even more while he was in this state. Ryo rubbed his temples several times and then laid down onto his back on the couch. Staring at the ceiling, he thought back to the dreams he had just had.

It had been a long time since he had had dreams of his childhood or dreams about the ordeal he had suffered while addicted to angel dust, and Ryo could not stop the nagging feeling that there was a reason why memories of his past were clawing their way to the forefront of his mind.

Suddenly, Ryo had an epiphany, and he clenched his hands.

'_He's here…He's come to Japan. And somehow, he is connected to either this whole thing with Jinguji-chan or with the investigation Saeko is working.'_

'_Why? Why did he have to come back?'_

Ryo gripped the cushions of the couch and worked to control his breathing. He was now convinced that his initial instincts about the things he was currently involved with being more than what they appeared to be were accurate yet again. He did not, however, relish being right in this case. Not if it meant having to confront the demons and shadows from his past.

Ryo ended up spending the rest of the night on the couch, struggling to regain some control and to figure out how he could face Kaori the next day.

Or any other day for that matter.

* * *

The next morning, Kaori opened her eyes and felt tears sting her eyes when she realized that she was waking up alone.

She sat up in bed and scrubbed her eyes. She had fallen asleep last night thinking about what Ryo had said to her about her own attempts to hide her feelings, and eventually she admitted to herself that he had had a point.

'_How can I expect Ryo to trust me with his secrets and his heart if I am not willing to share anything of myself with him? If I'm not able to tell him the things that I keep close to my heart? The things that worry me?'_

Kaori shivered and hugged her legs close to her chest. Despite the tension she knew her silence was causing, she could not find the courage to put her fears into words. Even now, with the reality of their relationship and all the ways that Ryo showered her with affection, she continued to grapple with old insecurities and doubts. She worried that if she shared her concerns with him, that he would dismiss them as absurd or be upset that she didn't trust him or maybe even decide that she was onto something after all.

She then thought again about how Ryo had mentioned that she appeared to not want to be with him, and she trembled as a couple of tears managed to wobble out of her eyes.

'_Does he actually think that? Does he think that I'm tiring of him or that I am changing my mind about being with him? That I will eventually walk away from him?'_

'_Does he really think that I could ever stop wanting him…needing him….loving him?'_

Kaori stretched and winced at how her right arm was still a little sore. She then looked at her wrist and could see bruises in the shape of fingers. As she stroked them with her fingertips, her thoughts went back to last night.

Last night, Kaori had been thrust out of a peaceful slumber when Ryo had stopped holding her and was instead thrashing about in his bed. She had opened his eyes and was frightened by the way he cried out in his sleep while sweating and shaking. She swiftly realized that he was having a nightmare and she was desperate to end his torment.

At first she had tried yelling at him, and when that didn't work, she grabbed his shoulder and shook him. She stopped when he had opened his eyes and was reaching over to console him when he had grabbed her and threw her to the ground while making sure to restrain her. For a second, she was confused and upset over his actions, but then when she saw the glazed look in his eyes, she knew that he had not acted consciously. The look of horror on his face once he was fully aware of what he had done served as additional proof of that.

Kaori felt her eyes well up with tears again, and she laid down to bury her face against Ryo's pillow. She had sensed for a long time that Ryo was tortured by things in his past, and what she had learned from Mary had convinced her that she had been right in her assessment. At times, Kaori resented the idea that Ryo did not trust her enough to confide in her about his past and about the things that haunted him, but last night had been enough to convince her that it was not as simple as that. It was not just a matter of trust; it was also a matter of fear, of long held anguish, and of wounds that had never really healed.

Kaori got out of bed and crept downstairs toward the front room. She found Ryo sprawled out on the couch, asleep. As she got closer she could see dark circles under his eyes and could tell by the way he was lying there that his body had eventually given in to exhaustion rather than relaxing enough to allow him to rest.

She walked back to Ryo's room and grabbed a blanket out of his closet before returning to the front room. She then draped it over him as best she could and knelt down beside him on the floor. Kaori wondered if he was dreaming now and if his dreams were more peaceful than the ones he had last night. She carefully ran her fingers through Ryo's hair, uncovering the tip of the scar from his fight with Umibozu on his forehead. The moment she saw it, fresh tears sprung to her eyes.

'_Ryo…my brave knight…I wish that you didn't have to suffer. If only you knew how much I wish I could take your suffering away. Don't you know by now that I will never be afraid of or repulsed by the things in your past? Don't you know by now that I could never leave you?'_

'_Don't you know by now that you are the only man I could ever love?'_

Kaori bent down and kissed him lightly on the forehead, her lips gently touching his scar. She then stood up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She knew that he had an appointment with Saeko this morning, and that he would have to get up soon.

But still, she could not help but feel that she should let him rest for a little while longer. At least until she was done preparing breakfast.

* * *

An hour later, Ryo was sitting in the park, sipping at a can of juice while waiting for Saeko to show up.

Earlier that morning, he had heard Kaori walk into the front room and had pretended to be asleep while she covered with a blanket and even while she kissed him. He was not comfortable with the amount of understanding that she was showing toward him in this situation, and thus, he decided not to reveal that he had been awake. Instead, he waited until she woke him to eat his breakfast to open his eyes. After a tense meal spent mostly in silence, Ryo briefly embraced her and rushed out the door.

As he sat on the bench, Ryo kept thinking about the look of sadness and disappointment on Kaori's face as he left her behind. He knew that he had acted distant and casual toward her, and he hated how it had clearly made her feel unwanted.

"What's wrong, Ryo? You don't look like yourself."

Ryo glanced over to see Saeko walking toward him with a bundle of files in her hands. He tossed the can into a nearby trash bin and leered at her.

"I was just thinking about how many more mokkori points you are probably going to rack up by the end of this case," he giggled. "You do know that I haven't forgotten about them?"

"Don't forget Ryo, that you are the one who wanted to be a part of this investigation," Saeko smirked in response. "But if you want, we could call us even on this one."

Ryo pouted as Saeko laughed and sat down next to him and handed him the files.

"This is everything we have on the confirmed victims," Saeko continued. "Chances are, you might know some of these people, so anything you can tell me about who would want them dead would be helpful."

"Problem is, there are usually a lot of people who want you dead if you have any connections to the underground," Ryo frowned as he flipped through the files.

"I understand," Saeko nodded. "That's part of the reason why I need your help. I figure that you would have a better idea of who would be capable of taking all of these people out along with having a reason to do it."

Ryo studied the files in front of him for a couple more minutes. He did recognize most of these people as informants and small time assassins within the professional world, but he could not immediately think of any other connections that tied all of them together.

"You said on the phone that the latest victim had someone traveling with her?" Ryo said. "And that she hasn't been found?"

"Yes," Saeko said. "Not to mention the fact that the both of them worked at one of the local cabaret clubs and had no known connections to the underground."

"What about other recent disappearances?" Ryo asked. "Did any of them have underground or professional connections?"

"Others?" Saeko said. "Now that you mention it, I haven't really looked into disappearances. I've mainly focused on confirmed murder victims."

"You should check into any disappearances from the time when the murders stopped in the US and when they started in Shinjuku," Ryo said.

"You really think that there will be a connection?" Saeko asked.

"I'm thinking this guy has a lot more going on than just some random murders," Ryo responded. "This guy…he likes killing. He likes hunting them down and he really likes the moment when he's cornered his 'prey'. If he made that other woman disappear, there was a reason behind it."

Saeko nodded her head. She pondered how Ryo truly understood how murderers like this one operated, and that thought made her shudder slightly. She reminded herself that Ryo was nothing like the person who was committing these crimes, but that still did not change the unpleasant fact that Ryo had a much more intimate knowledge of how their minds worked. It was then that she realized just how much all of them probably take this fact for granted.

'_Not everyone,' _she mentally corrected herself. '_I'm sure Umibozu-san also understands this, and perhaps Miki-san as well.'_

'_I do wonder though how much Kaori-san is aware of this reality.'_

Thoughts of Kaori made Saeko think back to yesterday and regret made its way into her heart.

"Ryo, listen," Saeko said. "I think you should know that Reika and Kaori-san had a disagreement yesterday. About you and about the relationship you have with Kaori-san. I don't think it was too serious…but I do think that Kaori-san might have been more affected by it than she might be letting on."

"I understand," Ryo said, slumping down on the bench. "Sorry to drag you into this."

"Ryo, you might not believe this," Saeko smiled at him. "But honestly, I do wish all the best for you and Kaori-san. The fact is, there are few things that are worse than realizing too late that you should have listened to your heart while you had the chance."

Ryo looked over at her with a knowing and melancholic expression as Saeko stood up and brushed the skirt of her dress slightly.

"I need to get back," she said. "We're still looking over evidence from this latest crime."

"I'll look this stuff over and get back to you in a couple days," Ryo said as he got to his feet as well.

"Try to make it sooner if possible," Saeko said. "The last two victims appeared within the same week of each other. For whatever reason, his pattern is accelerating as well as expanding to include more victims, and I worry about how it might continue to change."

"I'll do what I can," Ryo said as he turned to walk away. Saeko watched him until he disappeared from sight before walking back toward her car.

'_I know that you will, Ryo,' _she told herself. '_Just please be careful, whatever you do. This guy isn't like most of the people you've pursued in the past…and Kaori-san, she needs you in her life.'_

'_We all do.'_

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ryo parked his Mini-Cooper in front of a large house in an isolated area of Shinjuku and got out to walk to the door. He pressed the button for the intercom.

"Who's there?" a voice crackled over the speaker.

"Baby Face," Ryo answered. The door immediately unlocked, and Ryo was startled to see the professor waiting for him as he opened it.

"Ryo?" he said. "What is going on?"

"I need to ask a favor," Ryo answered. "Let's talk in the garden."

* * *

A couple minutes later, the professor leaned on his cane while sitting on a rock overlooking the pond in front of him. Ryo stood next to him silently.

"I know that this isn't just a social visit," the professor said. "But are you sure that I can't interest you in some new videos that I was able to get my hands on? The seller assured me that they will not disappoint."

"Maybe later," Ryo smirked at him.

"Oh ho, you've changed," the professor laughed. "Normally you know better than to turn down an offer like that. By any chance, does this have something to do with the recent changes in your life? Like maybe, you've got something…or someone…far more exciting to occupy your time? You know, you will never become Japan's number one womanizer with an attitude like that."

"Are you saying that I've made a bad decision?" Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow at him. The professor laughed again before adopting a more serious expression.

"If it's between something like that and the happiness I know you have now, I would like to think that you know what I would choose for you, Baby Face," he said. Ryo smiled back at him, and the two of them fell silent again for several minutes.

"Professor," Ryo said quietly. "He's back. And I think he's here in Japan." The professor looked over at him, his face registering his shock for a moment before his expression became grave.

"I had a feeling that this might be what your visit was about when you showed up," he said. "But Ryo…are you sure? Are you sure that it's him?" Ryo looked over at him with a somber, bitter look on his face, and the professor shook his head.

"I am sorry for asking you that," he said. "Of course, you of all people would know."

"I need you to confirm it for me," Ryo said. "And I need any information you can find about what he could be doing here."

"Ryo, you know very well that if he is here, it will be very difficult to track him down," the professor said.

"I understand that it won't be easy, and I know that this is a huge favor to ask," Ryo said. "If you want to refuse…."

"I told you before that I never could say no to you, and I certainly will not do so in this situation," the professor said. "But listen to me, Ryo, if he is here, it's not without reason, and more than likely it has something to do with you. I am asking you to be careful."

"I will," Ryo assured him.

"Does Kaori know anything about this?" the professor asked.

"Kaori? No," Ryo said. "I don't want to involve her in this."

"A gallant idea, but useless," the professor replied. "We already know that this visit has something to do with you, so she will be involved one way or another. Besides, we both know that she has another personal stake in this as well."

"Maybe I did make a bad decision after all," Ryo said, starting to frown.

"Don't think that for one moment, Baby Face," the professor said, his voice unusually stern. "Relationships are never simple for people in our world, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't exist. Kaori is a smart, strong girl. She knew what she was getting into when she chose you, and anyone can see how much better your life has become as a result of that choice."

Ryo continued to look down at the pond, and the professor nodded and stood up, his cane tapping as he walked.

"I will see what I can find out and get back with you as soon as I can," he said. "In the meantime, you should consider talking to Kaori and telling her everything. Of course, I can't tell you that you absolutely must do it, but I can safely say that continuing to try to keep all of this from her will only do more harm than good."

The professor walked inside, and Ryo sank down to sit on the rock next to the pond. He couldn't deny the logic behind the professor's words, but the thought of sharing certain parts of his past with Kaori made him filled him with fear, anger and shame.

'_I can't tell her about this,' _he said as he clenched his hands into fists. '_I do that and she will never look at me the same way again. She will never be able see me as a knight or even as a human. And I can't lose that. Besides, someone like her, someone with the heart that she has… I can't expose her to any of this.'_

'_And I won't. Not if I can prevent it.'_

* * *

The professor watched Ryo from a window facing the gardens. He didn't need to see Ryo's face to be able to deduce what could be running through his mind, and he felt his heart grow heavy at the distress that was evident in Ryo's demeanor.

'_So many old wounds,' _he thought as he shook his head. '_You've suffered so much at the hands of others, and now you won't give anyone a chance to help you heal.'_

'_I just hope that Kaori is more stubborn than you.' _


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Next chapter. No, I haven't abandoned this one either. Once again, just facing some work/school/free time issues. But I do hope to have more chapter up of this one soon.

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review, as always. :) I agree that part of the beauty of fanfiction is the chance to "add in" all the stuff you wish you could have seen in canon, be it in the anime or in the manga or the chance to explore stuff that didn't get explored in canon, so I like to do a mix in my work. And I am glad that you are enjoying how I integrate all the storylines I have fused together in this one. I'll admit that it was a bit of a challenge because I was combining plot elements from three different stories in the manga along with additional ideas of my own, so I am glad that it works for you. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update as well. :)

**Sake-kun: **Thank you for your review on my _To Find a Path story_. :) I figured that since you mentioned reading this whole trilogy that I would respond to your review on this update. Anyway, I would like to thank you for your kind review. I had been wishing for more City Hunter fic for a long time (well in English anyway, I know the French and the Italians are still putting out a lot as well, :D), so it made sense for me to just go ahead and try my own hand at it. I have a few more story ideas for this fandom, so I probably won't be stopping any time soon. As to writing professionally, that is something else I hope to do in the next year or two, so thank you for the well wishes. :) I hope you enjoy this and my future updates/stories as well.

Chapter Six

Two hours later, Ryo strolled toward the Cat's Eye café, a grin on his face.

After pulling himself together at the Professor's place, Ryo had called the number Ayako had given him yesterday at his apartment, and the two of them arranged to meet at the café for coffee. He then shared a few more words with the Professor before rushing out the door and driving off to his destination.

As he drove, he tried to put all thoughts about what had happened the previous night with Kaori and the suspicions he had shared with the Professor out of his mind. He knew that he would need to stay focused on this case he was working with Saeko and that this whole situation with Ayako was only going to complicate his life even more. Even though he agreed with the Professor that he would soon have to confront things in his past he would like to forget about, Ryo was convinced that he simply could not afford to add anything else to his plate right now.

Still, none of that was enough to completely erase his worries over Kaori and the nightmares he had endured from his brain. After several minutes of futile attempts to banish those worries, Ryo decided to put a smile on his face and hope that whatever happened next with Ayako would be enough of a distraction to give him a break from the things weighing on his heart for a while.

Soon Ryo parked his car a short distance away from the Cat's Eye café and bounded for the door.

"Hi, Miki-chan, Umi-chan," he grinned as he walked inside and raced over to the counter. "No customers as usual, I see. Miki-chan, when are you going to learn that having that octopus behind the counter is frightening all of your customers away?"

"Saeba-san," Miki sighed. "Have you ever considered the possibility that you might be the one scaring off my customers? You with your constant mokkori antics?"

"Me?" Ryo said, pointing at his nose. "You can't be serious, Miki-chan? Did Umi-chan plant that idea in your head? I bet he did. It's part of his plot, you know. If I stop coming around, you will wither away from loneliness. Then you'll be so desperate for any sort of male company that you'd even settle with someone like him. He is very sneaky that way"

Ryo was about to say more, but was cut off when Umibozu reached over the counter and grabbed Ryo's shirt, lifting him a couple of inches off the ground.

"Do you even know how to stop lying?" Umibozu asked him. "Or have you really become that delusional?"

"Oh come on, Umi-chan," Ryo grinned at him. "I'm just trying to help your business and ensure Miki-chan's happiness. Isn't that what you want too?"

"You can ensure my happiness by giving up on your idiotic fantasies, Saeba-san," Miki replied with a huff.

"Forget it, Miki," Umibozu said as he let Ryo go. "The chances of this pervert actually acquiring a brain are slim to none. It's best to ignore him as much as possible."

"Um, excuse me."

Ryo, Umibozu, and Miki looked over to see Ayako walking up to the counter. Ryo turned toward her and smoothed his shirt back into place.

"Welcome," Miki said, trying to smile. "Can I get you….?"

"Hi Ayako-chan," Ryo laughed as he bounced over and grabbed her hands. "Let me buy you a cup of coffee. I'll make sure that Miki-chan here makes it so that it will actually resemble coffee instead of sludge."

"Saeba-san," Miki sighed, put a hand to her head.

"Oh, ok, thank you," Ayako said with a nervous smile.

"We can sit over there while we're waiting," Ryo said, pointing toward a table next to the window.

"All right, whatever you say, Ryoichi-chan," Ayako smiled at him before walking away.

"Ryoichi-chan?" Miki said, confusion evident in her features.

"Never mind, just make us some coffee, Miki-chan," Ryo scowled as he followed Ayako to the table. Once he was there, he made sure to grin again at her.

"So Ayako-chan, why did you want to meet with me here today?" he asked. "Maybe you've finally changed your mind about this whole story you tried to tell me yesterday and have decided to take me up on my offer after all? Because I know some hotels that are simply…."

"Ryoichi-chan, now, is that really an appropriate thing to say to your aunt?" Ayako smiled back at him.

As she said this, Miki sat the cups of coffee in front of them, unable to keep the surprise off her face. She looked as if she was about to ask something, but one look at Ryo's face was enough to convince Miki to quietly rejoin Umibozu behind the counter without a single word.

"Ayako-chan, my name is Ryo Saeba," Ryo insisted. "Not Ryoichi. Why won't you tell me what is actually going on?"

"All right, I will refrain from that, Saeba-san," Ayako said after taking a sip of coffee. "But before I answer your question, I would like you to answer mine: why do you refuse to entertain the possibility that you could be Ryoichi Jinguji? I know that you know that Ryo Saeba is not the name you were born with. Haven't you ever tried to find out about your parents or the rest of your birth family?"

"Ayako-chan, you said that you've done some investigating on me before seeking me out," Ryo replied. "I imagine by this point, you know about the fact that I work as part of City Hunter."

"Part of it? Really?" Ayako said. "The people I talked to seemed to indicate that you alone were also known as City Hunter. So who else…Oh, that woman you are living with, Kaori Makimura. Is she also part of City Hunter?"

"City Hunter is always two people," Ryo added. "Kaori is my partner."

"I see, I suppose I understand the situation now," Ayako nodded. "Well either way, yes, I do know some about your work as City Hunter, and I don't see why that should be an issue. From what I have been able to gather, you have helped a lot of innocent, hard-working people by helping the police nab many criminals…and you've also saved a lot of lives by completely eliminating some of the absolute worst of them."

"But has it also crossed your mind that there are a lot of people who would like to see me dead because of what I do?" Ryo asked. "People who would not hesitate to use others as a way to get to me? Like for example, some well meaning, but clueless people who are looking for some long lost relatives?"

"Oh, I see," Ayako said, clapping her hands together. "You don't want to admit to be related to the Jinguji's as a way to protect them. It's the whole notion of how there is no room for family in the world of a professional. Is that it?"

"Now are you are starting to understand," Ryo smiled. "So how about we forget about this whole thing and I take you out to check out some of those hotels?"

Ryo punctuated his words by leaning closer to Ayako and puckering up his lips, but Ayako held up her hands and pressed it hard against his face.

"Oh no, Saeba-san, you are not getting away that easily," she laughed at him. "You should know that beyond some distant relatives, there are no other members of the Jinguji family left other than myself and my father…and neither of us will be scared off so easily. I am more than capable of taking care of myself, and as for _otosan_…well he is much tougher, much smarter, and much more stubborn than you might think upon meeting him. I am certain that he would not back down from the possibility of reuniting with his grandson just because there might be some danger involved."

Ryo frowned at her, but Ayako continued to smile while she took a long sip from her mug. She then sat it down and put her arms onto the table while resting her chin on her crossed fingers.

"Saeba-san, one of the reasons _otosan_ is desperate to find you is because he wants to hand his business and his fortune over to you," she continued. "You should know that _otosan_ is the sole holder of the Jinguji Concern. Granted, it is smaller than most other Concerns, but it is still a strong presence in the business world and could rise up again with strong, intelligent leadership."

"Why not give all of this to you, his precious daughter?" Ryo smiled at her. "You seem to be more than capable of running things…and after all, I'm just a silly playboy."

"I know that _otosan_ loves me like his own child," Ayako said. "But this gift…this was always something he had intended for his son and for his grandson. I wish you could understand how much he misses the both of them and how much it would mean to him to be able to finally confer this gift to one of them instead of bequeathing it to distant family who have little attachment to legacy of this Concern beyond the practical business aspects. And by the way, you are not fooling me, Saeba-san. I am certain that you are far more than just a silly playboy."

Ayako moved her arms down to the table and leaned closer to Ryo.

"Saeba-san, haven't you ever wanted to get out of this life? This life as a professional?" she asked him. "Haven't you ever longed for a normal life where you could live like everyone else instead of having to look over your shoulder all the time? Haven't you ever wanted a chance for something beyond a day-by-day existence? I am offering you this chance now. If you are indeed Ryoichi Jinguji…which I am sure you are…you could have a different life, a life of comfort and privilege. You could have a life where you could dream of the future and build it with your own two hands."

"A life spent trapped in a corporate cage and contending with relatives who might feel cheated or who have their own petty agendas to advance?" Ryo smirked. "Is that what you think I should aspire to?"

"It doesn't have to be like that," Ayako frowned. "And besides, are you honestly saying that you are happy in this life of bullets, death, and dirty underground dealings? Or is it something else that keeps you here…?"

Ayako nodded and finished the rest of her coffee before speaking again.

"Is it that woman, your partner?" she asked with another smile. "Do not worry. _Otosan_ is not like others in his position. If she is the one you want to marry, I am certain that he would be more than willing to come around to the idea and welcome her into the family. Besides, I imagine that he would love the opportunity to become a great-grandfather before too long."

"Don't, don't get the wrong idea," Ryo spluttered, waving his arms about. "Kaori is my partner, that's all. I am not the marrying and having kids kind of guy."

"Whatever," Ayako huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "The point is that I am trying to offer you a chance to escape the life of a professional. How it plays out from there is totally up to you. What I don't understand is why you are clinging so hard to an identity that you got merely because of bad luck." Ryo frowned again, but Ayako did not seem to notice his response to her words.

"After all, you only became Ryo Saeba because you were unfortunate enough to be in that plane when it crashed," she added. "I'm merely trying to correct the injustice that was done to you on that day, an injustice that has shaped your life into the hard existence you've had to endure for so many years. Why are you fighting so hard to hold onto a name that was given to you because it happened to be the same as some martial arts instructor someone else respected as a child? Why are you struggling so much to hold fast to a life that you were thrust into because the people who found you as a child could not see past their own lives for any other option for you?"

Ayako was about to say more, but she was startled at the look that had suddenly appeared in Ryo's eyes, a look of surprise mixed with sadness and more than a little rage. She shrank back from him and sank down in her chair. She wondered if perhaps she had needled him too far and what in particular she had said that had pushed him to this point.

Her fright swiftly turned to bewilderment when he suddenly got a large, lecherous grin on his face, and he leapt up onto the table and lunged toward her. She gasped as he brushed the coffee mugs to the side and inched toward her.

"Ayako-chan," he giggled. "You are spending far too time dwelling on the past. How about we focus on having some fun now?"

"Saeba-san…."

"Come on," he said as he grabbed her arm. "I know all the best spots around here, and I can promise you that you'll never forget an evening spent with the Stallion of Shinjuku."

Ayako began to protest again, but stopped when a look of shock returned to Ryo's face and he abruptly stopped what he was doing to stare out the window. Ryo then leapt off the table and ran out of the café without a word.

"Saeba-san?" she called out after him. She rose from her chair, but he was out the door before she could take even one step. Both Umibozu and Miki watched this scene with startled looks of their own.

"Falcon, what is going on?" Miki asked as she turned toward him. Umibozu looked out the window of the café for a moment before grimacing.

"Ryo is trying to find out who was watching him," he said.

"Watching him?" Miki echoed. "You mean one of his enemies followed him here? Or maybe someone who is after this woman Saeba-san was talking to?"

"Who knows?" Umibozu said as he picked up a mug to wipe. "Both of those possibilities are good ones. Still…."

"Still?"

"What I wonder is why it took him so long to notice that," Umibozu continued. "I had noted it a few minutes ago, but when I saw Ryo show no reaction, I figured that he knew about it and that there was no real threat. But his reaction just now tells me otherwise."

Umibozu finished wiping the cup in his hands and picked up another one to clean in the same methodical fashion.

"Something is wrong," he added. "And if Ryo does not stop letting himself be so distracted, there could be consequences. Dire ones."

* * *

Ryo ran down the street for another minute before finally giving up and leaning against the wall of a nearby alley. For a moment, he had thought that whoever was following Ayako from before was back, but it only took Ryo seconds to realize that it was someone different this time. It was during this pursuit, during this time that he had had a chance to catch a glimpse of the person avoiding him and escaping into the crowd, that Ryo had an opportunity to see who it was and the revelation startled him.

'_Mick? But why? What are you doing in Japan?'_

* * *

A short distance away, a man in a nearby alley frowned at the latest development.

'_So…now Mick Angel has entered the game. I suppose this is Mayor's way of letting me know that he does not trust me to get the job done…or that he is displeased with my methods.'_

The man let out a laugh and strolled back into the shadows from the dilapidated building next to him.

'_No matter. Once I get rid of Saeba and his cohorts, Mayor will have no choice but to see the beauty and logic in my way of doing things….and before too long, I will be able to seize control from him anyway.'_

The man let out another laugh, high and lilting as he walked away, intent on finding another way to amuse himself tonight.

* * *

Down in the basement of the apartment building, Kaori finished firing another round of bullets at the targets across the room from her. Once she was done, she studied her results and frowned at what she saw.

Even though Ryo refused to help her with her marksmanship skills and had told Umibozu and Miki to do the same, Kaori still tried to improve on her own. She would wait until he was gone from the house and would practice in the basement or would even go to the Cat's Eye café to practice at the range Miki and Umibozu used. Despite the fact that she continued to search for ways that might help her improve and despite all of her hard work, Kaori was forced to face the fact that she was still unable to make any of her bullets hit her mark.

'_What is wrong with me? Why can't I hit anything?' _she wondered.

It was tempting to fall into a gloom over her poor shooting skills, but confusion turned out to be the stronger emotion inside of her. Recently, Miki had been helping her make gains in her ability to defend herself in one-on-one combat, and Umibozu had commented that she was getting even better at crafting traps. The progress she had made so rapidly in these areas made the fact that she still couldn't hit even a single target even more bewildering to Kaori.

'_No matter what Ryo says, there is no way I can truly help him in his work if I can't learn to fire a gun. Until I do, there is always the chance that someone will use me to get to him.'_

'_Or…one of his enemies might end up being a woman and he…he might….'_

Kaori shuddered as she sat her gun down on the counter in front of her. She thought back to the case involving Emi Sugisaki, and more specifically the moment when Emi had pointed her gun at Ryo to shoot him….and the fact that Ryo did nothing to defend himself.

Kaori pressed her lips together and reached for another round of ammunition. Ever since she had known him, Ryo had always refused to point his gun at a woman. It was a stance that Kaori could not entirely understand given the world he lived in, and she often wondered how many times Ryo had been in danger because of that policy as well as what had made him adopt such a rule in the first place. In the past though, Kaori had found it easy to overlook since most of their clients tended to be women, and most of Ryo's and their clients' enemies tended to be male. The case with Sugisaki, however, had been a grave reminder of how Ryo's reluctance to shoot at a woman could cost him his life.

'_Even if he doesn't want me to do this, I have to find a way to protect him,' _Kaori told herself. '_How can I honestly call myself his partner both in life and work if I can't do anything to keep him safe?'_

Kaori lifted her gun and fired another round of shots. Once again, however, she failed to hit the target in front of her even one time. Her shoulders slumped downward at the sight and she let out a tired laugh.

"Who am I kidding?" she asked aloud. "I'll never be a good partner for Ryo with wretched abilities like this."

"Perhaps all you need is a good teacher."

Kaori gasped and whirled around toward the voice she had heard, her gun poised to fire again. Her tension turned to surprise when she saw Mick standing in the doorway next to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her gun still pointed at him. Mick held up his hands and laughed nervously.

"Calm down Kaori," he said. "I was just stopping by to find Ryo. I heard gunshots and thought that maybe he was down here."

"You could have waited at the door like a normal person," she glared at him as she lowered her gun.

"Well, I doubt you would have heard me in the midst of your practicing," Mick countered. "Am I wrong? Besides, I guess you could say it's my natural reflex to respond to the sound of gunfire."

"I suppose that makes sense," Kaori sighed. "Anyway, Ryo isn't here right now, and honestly, I don't know when he will be back. How about I make you some tea and then we can…." Mick held up a hand to stop her.

"Your offer is very enticing, but you should know that I was serious before," he said. "If you would like, I could give you some pointers on how to handle that gun."

"Oh no, don't feel like you have to do that," Kaori laughed. "It would be a waste of time, really."

Mick took a couple of steps toward her, and Kaori felt her heart race at the way he gazed into her eyes.

"Nonsense," he smiled at her. "It's true that your accuracy could stand some improvement, but from what little I could see, you seem to have a solid grasp of the basics. Give yourself and me a chance, Kaori. I promise that you won't be disappointed."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Next chapter. February with Valentine's Day and March with White Day (in Japan) are both coming up soon, so right now I am working on a project to celebrate these two romantic holidays. I hope to start posting it in a little over a week, so I hope everyone will enjoy it along with updates to my two currently open fics. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

**Eve: **Thank you for the review, as always. :) No, I hadn't forgotten this one. It's just been a tricky one to plot and write because there's a lot I'm juggling with it, but I am pleased with how it is unfolding, and I am glad that you are enjoying it too...As to what happened with the meeting with Mick, well I can say that you will find out before long what happened, but it may not play out the way you might expect. ;) Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this update as well.

Chapter Seven

"Ryo-chan, I think I speak for everyone around here when I tell you that something horrible has arrived in Shinjuku…something that just about everyone is afraid of whether they'll admit it or not."

Ryo nodded as he walked along the street with Yumi, a stripper from one of the local clubs that Ryo frequented in Shinjuku who had been a friend of his for a while.

After he had failed to catch up with Mick, Ryo had gone back to the Cat's Eye to say goodbye to Ayako with the promise that he would meet with her again soon. He then went back toward the heart of the Kabuki-Cho Ichiban Gai district to see if he could find out any information about the recent murders in Shinjuku. As he had expected, his usual contacts did not have much useful information other than to let him know about several people who had gone missing recently along with some vague rumors.

While he was there, he happened to run into Yumi, and she begged him to take a walk with her before her shift started at the club where she worked.

"There are so many crazy rumors flying about," she continued. "Most of them are about some guy who they say is the one the cops are looking for, you know the one who killed Yuko and her roommate, Shoko."

"They found Shoko-chan?" Ryo asked her. Yumi bowed her hand and took a hold of Ryo's arm.

"No, no of course not," she said. "Those cops don't care anything about finding some hostess from a bar around here. They never find any of the ones who have disappeared here recently. And let's face it, there's no way that any of those people are still alive."

Yumi gripped her hands tightly to stop them from trembling for a moment, but then went back to caressing Ryo's arm.

"All the girls here…we keep trying to tell each other to do things like make sure to always be with someone while going out and to avoid isolated areas," she said. "But honestly, I think we're just trying to avoid thinking that what happened to those other people could happen to us too, and that there's nothing we can really do about it."

Yumi rested her head against Ryo's shoulder. Ryo smiled and guided her to walk closer to him.

"Walking here with you, it's the first time in weeks that I've felt safe," she said. "I know that there are some people around here who are actually comparing this guy to you. Not that they think it is you, mind you…at least most of them don't think it's you. It's just this guy seems just as…I don't know as skilled and maybe even as invincible as you. It's almost as if he's an evil version of you. At least, that's what they think, but not me, Ryo-chan. I know that you'll get this guy. There's no doubt in my mind. That's why I wanted a chance to spend some time with you, so I could feel safe for a moment from this guy, this monster who's running wild in our city."

"Yumi-chan, isn't there somewhere you could go until this is over?" Ryo asked her. "Some people you could stay with or something?" Yumi laughed and squeezed his arm.

"Concerned about me? That's sweet," she said. "You know, you're the only guy, the only decent guy, who comes to see me."

Yumi paused and Ryo was about to ask her what was wrong when she looked up at him with a smirk.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen you around here much these days," she teased. "What's going on, Ryo-chan? Have you got something else occupying your time? Or, maybe I should say someone else?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Ryo laughed. "There's just been a lot of work stuff here recently, and then I just needed some time off to…." Yumi moved to face him and placed her index finger onto his lips, her smile growing.

"Don't try to smooth talk me, Ryo Saeba," she said. "Your mouth says one thing, but the look in your eyes says something else entirely. I've been around the block enough times to know what that look means: you're in love. So, who's the lucky girl, huh? Not someone around here, I bet."

"Yumi-chan, you've got it all wrong," Ryo said, holding up his hands toward her and laughing again. Yumi stared at him for a moment before realization lit up her eyes, causing her to laugh as well.

"Oh, I get it now," she said. "I should have known, really. Don't worry, Ryo-chan, your secret is safe with me. And don't worry about me. After tonight I plan on leaving town for a while. I've got a cousin in Osaka who has a kid who is sick. She can't be home all the time, so I offered to stay with her to help out for a while. I probably won't be back for a month or two."

"That's good," Ryo nodded. "By then, I should have this taken care of."

"You better," Yumi said with a curt nod. "We're all counting on you, Ryo-chan. You know, there's a reason why we all let you slide on your debts so much around here."

"Maybe it's because I'm devilishly handsome," he grinned at her. "Or maybe it's my charm or my reputation as the Stallion of Shinjuku."

"Well all of that is a little bit of it," she smirked back. "But no, none of it is the real reason, and I know that you know it."

The two of them strolled back to the entrance of the club Yumi worked at, and once they were there, Yumi let out a long sigh.

"I don't suppose I could persuade you to come in and watch my show tonight," she said.

"I'd like that," he grinned again. "But I've got some other people I need to track down."

"Work before pleasure," she said. "I get that. But you better make sure to come by and see me again when I get back."

"I will, I promise," he smiled. Yumi smiled back in response and then leaned up onto her tiptoes so she could kiss him on the cheek near his mouth. Ryo briefly closed his eyes as her lips brushed against his face and giggled as he let his hands wander to her waist.

"Maybe I could spare some time for a little mokkori before your show starts," he said. Yumi laughed and pushed his face away with the palm of her hand while wriggling out of his grasp.

"Ah, don't kid me, Ryo-chan," she said. "We both know that's not going to happen, not while you have that look in your eyes. But thank you, for saying it just the same. Now, you run along and get to work on stopping that guy. And oh, Ryo-chan, make sure to say hi to your partner, Kaori-san for me."

"Kaori?" he said. "But why?"

"Oh no reason," she winked at him. "See you later."

Yumi waved at him one last time before ducking into the club. Ryo stood outside in front of the entrance for a full minute before finally walking away.

Just as he walked away, another man appeared in an alley across from the club. The man lit a cigarette and grinned as he blew out the match. He then leaned against the wall and settled in to watch and wait.

Watching for his latest prey to wander out into the darkness. Waiting for the moment when he could begin the next step in his game with Ryo Saeba.

* * *

Reika wandered into the Homicide Division's office, confident that she would find her sister working at her desk even though it was late at night. Sure enough, she spied Saeko typing away at her computer, and she walked over to stand in front of her desk.

"Still working that series of homicides in Shinjuku, _onesan_?" Reika asked as she sat down in a chair next to Saeko. "Has Ryo been able to give you anything to work with yet?"

"Actually yes," Saeko said as she looked up. "He told me to look into not just confirmed homicides, but also missing person reports around Shinjuku."

"And?" Reika said, leaning close to peek at the computer screen.

"Turns out he was onto something," Saeko said. "From what I can tell, the disappearances start around the time the killer was thought to have slipped into Tokyo. In fact, there are actually more disappearances that point to him than confirmed deaths. Recently though, the pattern has become even more fixed…and more troubling."

"What do you mean, troubling?"

"From what I can tell, all of the latest homicides coincide with another missing person report from roughly the same area where the body was discovered," Saeko answered. "And it all fits with what we know about this latest victim since she was reported to have been with her roommate around the time she was killed."

"So, you're saying that at around the same time he's killing one person, he's kidnapping another one?" Reika said.

"It seems that way," Saeko nodded. "And so far, none of the people who went missing on the same night as these murders has ever resurfaced, alive or dead. So the question becomes, what is he doing with these people?"

Reika shuddered as she studied the screen with Saeko for several minutes.

"By the way," Saeko said, looking up. "What brings you by here anyway? I doubt you just came to see how I was doing on this case."

"Ha ha, well I was curious to see how you were doing," Reika smiled at her before becoming somber again. "But I…I also wanted to apologize. I'm sorry about what I said about Makimura, and I…."

"Don't worry about it," Saeko said, waving her hand. "The one you should be apologizing to is Kaori-san."

"I'm still working on that," Reika said, her face red. "And…there was another reason why I stopped by."

"Oh?"

"I need any information the police have on a woman named Ayako Jinguji," Reika said.

"Did Ryo put you onto this?" Saeko asked. "Is it related to my case?"

"Well, I don't like to talk about my clients, but yes he did," Reika replied. "But I don't think it's related to your case at all."

"Ayako Jinguji," Saeko said. "That name sounds familiar."

"It did to me too," Reika said. "And I figured out why. Turns out she's a private investigator like me. In fact, she worked for a pretty well known veteran of the business, Hideji Tsuchiya, before her boss was in some kind of fatal accident. That and the fact that she was adopted by the head of the Jinguji family and Concern after her parents died are about all I've been able to find out of any importance. I'm not really sure why Ryo is so interested in her."

Saeko lightly tapped her fingertips against her desk for a moment as she tried to place where she had heard the name. A flash of inspiration soon came to her, and her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Reika asked her.

Saeko did not answer. Instead she furiously typed away on her keyboard, pulling up more than one file and checking them against each other. After a few minutes of this, she finally realized why the name had seemed so familiar, but that realization did nothing to ease her agitation.

"Look at this," Saeko said, tilting the computer screen toward Reika slightly. "Tsuchiya's death was ruled an accident, but the police still investigated it due to the fact that he was working on some high-profile cases in conjunction with the department at the time. In the end though, the detectives working the case were not able to find anything definitive."

"So it might have been a hit made to look like an accident," Reika said. "Still, I don't see what's so significant about it."

"The department was so concerned about the cases he was working on that were going to court, they didn't pay much attention to one other case he had taken on not long before he died," Saeko replied. "It turns out that Tsuchiya was looking into a couple of low level thugs who were said to be part of a larger drug organization who was looking to make inroads into Japan. A drug organization that originated in Central America."

"Central America?" Reika responded. "Wait, do you mean….?"

"Exactly," Saeko said. "Union Teope."

"You think that Union Teope are the ones who had Tsuchiya killed?" Reika asked.

"Sadly, I know all too well how easy it is for them to get to just about anyone," Saeko said, her face grim. Reika nodded in response. She knew exactly what Saeko was referring to with that statement and did not feel the need to remind her sister of the loss she knew Saeko still carried with her to this day.

"It can't be a coincidence," Reika said instead.

"I don't think so either," Saeko said. "The question is, what, if any, connection does Ayako Jinguji have with Union Teope now? And how exactly is she involved with Ryo?"

* * *

After a couple more hours of mostly fruitless investigation, Ryo walked back into his apartment building and headed straight up to his floor. There, he found Kaori sitting near the window, watching the sky. She did not move as he walked closer to her, and he frowned.

"Kaori," he said. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to come back until now. I was checking on some leads on that case for Saeko and I guess time sort of got away from me."

"It's all right," she said. "I understand. Did you want something to eat? I have some leftovers in the kitchen."

"Sure," Ryo shrugged as he sat down on the couch. He watched Kaori nod and stand up while still not looking at him.

"Kaori, I…."

"I'll go warm them up for you," she said, her back to him. "Go ahead and relax."

She then walked into the kitchen, leaving a worried and confused Ryo in the front room. His confusion only lasted for a moment though when he thought back to last night and this morning.

'_I suppose I should have seen this coming,' _he told himself. '_After what I did to her last night and how I avoided her all day today, it's really no surprise that she's mad at me.'_

Ryo sighed and slumped down on the couch. It was during times like this that Ryo realized how much he preferred it when Kaori used her hammer on him when she was mad. Usually then, he knew exactly what he had done wrong, and often once she had managed to pound him into the ground, she would let go of her anger and move on.

Granted, none of that made the hammer strikes any less painful or made it so he wouldn't continue to try to avoid them, but in a perverse sort of way, Ryo was comforted by this routine. There was the obvious fun he had with the game they had made of teasing each other and the thrill of the chase as he tried to escape. But even more than that, Ryo often took it as a sign that she cared and was actually somewhat flattered that she was jealous of him attempting to mokkori with other women.

Far worse for him were times like this: times when it was clear that Kaori was upset, and when she withdrew from him and refused to talk about what was bothering her. It was times like those when Ryo feared that she was seriously contemplating making changes in her life, including walking away from him and the dangerous world he lived in.

They were also the times when Ryo knew that Kaori was often grappling with something more painful and closer to her heart, and he wished there was something he could do to ease the hurt she felt. The problem was, right now, she was also pulling away from him and that made it much harder for him to do anything to help her.

Ryo fell forward and rested on his stomach. He was now beginning to wonder if perhaps he was not being proactive enough in this situation. He had wanted to wait until Kaori chose to approach him first with either a reproach or an offer to reconcile, but this waiting was starting to chafe on him.

'_Being on the defensive all the time has never been the way I do things,' _he told himself. '_Why should it be any different in this situation?'_

Decision made, Ryo chose to wait until after he had had something to eat to do anything. A few minutes later, Kaori brought out several plates of food for him, and Ryo immediately rushed over to the table and devoured all of it in minutes. As he finished the last scraps of his meal, Ryo pondered how he was actually far hungrier than he had originally thought, and he was grateful that Kaori had thought to make him such a large meal for when he got home.

After he was finished, he waited until Kaori cleared the table and had had time to be finished with the dishes before positioning himself outside the kitchen and waiting for her to come out. The moment she reappeared, Ryo grabbed her and enveloped her in his arms.

"Kaori," he murmured. He then began to kiss her and hold her as tightly as he could. Soon, he was swept up by a need that he didn't even know was growing inside him. The taste of Kaori's lips, the warmth of her body against his, the scent of her skin all melded together into a balm that his heart desperately needed right now.

At first, Kaori seemed receptive to the attention, and Ryo was certain that he had done the right thing in making the first move. As Ryo grew bolder and more passionate in his advances, however, her demeanor changed. She tried to pry Ryo's hands apart, but he would not let her go.

"Ryo, stop it," she said between his kisses. She pushed herself away from him, but Ryo continued to cling to her.

"Kaori," he said. "I'm sorry about this morning…and last night. Let me make it up to you now." He then went back to kissing her, his every movement fueled with an escalating sense of urgency. Kaori swiftly put a stop to this, however, by shoving Ryo as hard as she could and backing up against a nearby wall.

"Ryo, I said stop it," she snapped at him. "I don't want that, can't you understand?" Ryo's mouth dropped open in shock and his eyes widened at the ferocity of her tone.

"I…I'm sorry," he stuttered out. "But…Kaori, why….?"

"You mean, why don't I want to jump into bed with you?" she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe some of us need more out of life and out of love than just a round of mokkori whenever the urge strikes."

As the words left Kaori's lips, Ryo's expression immediately changed from confusion to anger and hurt, and Kaori put a hand over her mouth.

"So, that's how you see me and what I do," he nodded, his tone hard yet brittle. "The Stallion of Shinjuku who only cares about the next mokkori opportunity and nothing else."

"Ryo…."

"I suppose I can't blame you for that," he continued with a slight nod. "It's been a major part of my life for so long, maybe that's all I know at this point. Maybe that's all any one will ever see in me." Ryo took a step toward her, and Kaori flattened herself against the wall and shuddered at the dark glint in his eyes.

"Maybe I was a fool to think that anyone would ever think any differently," he snarled. "And maybe, I should stop deluding myself into thinking that things will ever change."

Kaori's eyes grew wet as she turned away and dashed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Ryo could hear the sound of footsteps in the stairwell, and he figured that she was going back to her floor to spend the night. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard another door slam on the floor below him before silence filled the hallways.

Ryo clenched his hands into fists and retrieved his bottle of whiskey from the cupboards, determined to finish the rest of it tonight and get drunk in the process. He sat down on the couch with his bottle and a glass and began to down one drink after another in rapid succession. As he drank, he pondered how he still could not figure out what he should do next and the resulting frustration that continued to burn inside him.

In another way though, Ryo was somewhat relieved that Kaori had chosen to leave him alone for the night. It made it so he wouldn't have to face what he had done to her the last time they had slept in the same bed for a little while longer.

Over time, the level of whiskey in the bottle continued to shrink, and Ryo felt his mood continue to spiral downward in tandem. He thought again about how he had spotted Mick, and Ryo wondered what he was doing here and why he hadn't made contact with him. As far as he could remember, Ryo thought that the two of them had dissolved their partnership on good terms, but now he wondered if perhaps he had missed a mistake that he had made with Mick, and he began to ponder just how bad he really was at navigating close personal relationships.

"_Saeba-san, haven't you ever wanted to get out of this life?"_

"_Haven't you ever longed for a normal life where you could live like everyone else…?"_

Ayako's words suddenly echoed and his head, and Ryo sat his glass down and rubbed his temples. He hadn't responded to her comments aloud, but in his mind he had thought about how there had been many times when he had wished that he could lead an ordinary existence, that he could escape his past and who and what he was and live like a human being instead of a killer. At times, he even dreamed about walking away from this life and disappearing to a place where no one would know him so he could live a solitary existence away from anyone and everyone who ever knew of Ryo Saeba.

Ryo sighed and poured himself another drink, draining the last of the liquor from the bottle. Whenever he did start to have dreams like that, his own memories of what he had done in the past would squash them before they would get too strong, and he would be forced to face the realities of his world: that Ryo Saeba and all that came with that name was an integral part of who he was inside, that he could never undo what he had done in the past, and that his past would never permit him to lead a normal life. Not ever.

"_I know that there are some people around here who are actually comparing this guy to you."_

"_It's almost as if he's an evil version of you."_

Ryo tilted his head back as he swallowed the last of his whiskey before dropping his glass to the floor and swatting the empty bottle against a nearby wall. He watched it sail by and shatter as it made impact, and he laughed bitterly as he watched the shards of glass fall to the floor. He then fell back onto his back on the couch and stared at the ceiling while Yumi's words replayed in his head.

At this point though, he wondered if Yumi, or anyone else, knew for sure if this killer was really any different than him or if they were entirely sure of which one of them was the monster they should fear.

For that matter, Ryo himself was somewhat unsure if there truly was a difference between him and this killer or if the two of them were simply different versions of the same evil.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Next chapter. As I mentioned before, I do have a project planned for the upcoming Valentine's Day and White Day here soon, and I hope to have it up some time this week. I hope my readers will enjoy it. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review, as always. :) I will say this, the tension from the last chapter is not going away in this one, and if anything, it will be taken up another notch...Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update, and will enjoy my new project later this week. :)

**AskForXYZ: **Thank you for your very kind review. :) City Hunter has been one of my absolute favorite manga/animes for a long time, so it's been fun writing stories for it. As for Angel Heart...well I'm pretty much going along with what Hojo said about it being alternate universe simply because too much of the pre-CH past was changed for it to have any real connection to CH proper. So for me, City Hunter ended with Volume 35 of the manga and with the last CH movie in the late 90s (I can only hope they will do one last series to cover the final sections of the manga at some point), and Angel Heart has nothing to do with it. I agree with you though, that Ryo and Kaori deserve a happy ending, and I suppose this trilogy of stories is how I could imagine it happening. I hope you enjoy my ideas here and the rest of my current and future projects as well. :)

Chapter Eight

Morning came, and as soon as she woke up, Kaori sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. She had spent the previous night in her old bedroom with most of that time had been devoted to crying rather than sleeping, and she was beginning to wonder when her tears would stop.

Kaori thought back to yesterday, and more specifically last night. She hadn't wanted things to get out of control that way, but hadn't been able to stop herself from saying the first thing she could think of that was sure put a halt to Ryo's amorous mood. As soon as she had said it, however, she had regretted it and she knew that she had gone too far once she saw the look on Ryo's face. After that, she couldn't think of anything else to do other than to run away from him and the dark glint in his eyes.

Kaori sniffled and scrubbed at her face with the edge of her hand. She tried to calm down and think of a way to fix this situation, but her thoughts kept going back to Mick's visit yesterday.

* * *

_Kaori watched Mick stand in the doorway, waiting for her answer. Truthfully, she did not want to betray Ryo by breaking her agreement with him to focus on non-lethal methods of self-defense, but she was finding it harder and harder to stick to that agreement as the weeks went by. Eventually, she tried to tell herself that, technically, Ryo had never said that she couldn't take lessons in shooting from Mick, even though she knew that that was a flimsy excuse for what she was about to do._

"_Ok," she told Mick. "I'd…I'd really appreciate your help."_

_Mick grinned and walked over to the range. He put a pair of ear plugs into his ears and pulled out his own gun. After taking aim for a second, he fired a series of shots, and once he was done, Kaori stared in awe at how closely they were clustered together at the center of the target._

"_Wow, great," she had gasped. "You're practically as good as Ryo."_

"_Thank you," he smiled as he put his gun away. "Although by now, I'd say that I'm maybe a little better yet than him. Now, you try."_

_Kaori nodded and picked her gun up. She spent almost a minute trying to aim before firing a couple shots. Once she was done, she squinted at the target and was dismayed when she realized that she had completely missed the target again. _

"_Hmm, strange," Mick said. "I couldn't see anything wrong in your technique. You should have hit the target. Try again."_

_Kaori sighed and fired a couple more rounds. Mick continued to watch her carefully and moved behind her at one point. She finished firing all the bullets in her gun, and Mick put his hand over hers. Kaori blushed, and Mick grinned even more at the sight. _

"_May I?" he said as he tapped the butt of the gun with his index finger. Kaori nodded and opened her hands so he could take the gun from her. He studied it silently for a moment before sitting it down and pulling out his own gun again._

"_This time, I want you to use this," he said as he handed it to her. _

"_Mick, I don't see…."_

"_Just try it," he interrupted. "Please."_

_Kaori nodded and gripped Mick's gun tightly in her hands as she turned back toward the targets. She couldn't see how this was going to make any difference, but she still made sure to focus and aim as best she could before squeezing the trigger. The gun was unfamiliar to her and her hands shuddered at the stronger caliber, but she was shocked to see that all her bullets hit the target and that some had hit toward the center._

"_What?" she whispered. "How…how did I….?"_

"_I thought so," Mick said. Kaori whirled toward him to see that he was holding her gun again and examining it. _

"_Mick, I…."_

"_Kaori, the truth is, you're actually a pretty good shot," Mick said as he looked up. "And the reason you weren't able to hit anything before is because you were using this gun."_

"_Because of my gun?" she repeated. "But why?" Kaori walked over to him and grabbed the gun away from his grasp while handing his back to him._

"_My brother was a police detective and he was Ryo's partner before I was," she said. "This was his gun. Ryo gave it to me when I started to work with him. He always said that aniki was a great shot, so I don't understand how his gun could…."_

"_The gun's been altered," Mick cut in. "Even I couldn't hit anything with it. And your surprise tells me that you didn't know about it."_

_Mick put his gun away and moved close to Kaori again. Kaori backed away from him without truly understanding why she did it, but Mick made sure to continue to narrow the distance between them._

"_Ryo must have done it before he gave it to you," he continued. "He certainly has the expertise to do it in a way so that you couldn't tell just by looking at it. At least, not unless you were an expert with guns like him or like me."_

_Kaori stood against the wall, and Mick flattened a palm against it while straightening out his arm so that she was trapped where she was._

"_I wonder why Ryo decided to do that," Mick said. "You say he's your partner, but are you sure that you are truly his? Maybe he doesn't see your partnership the same way you do."_

_Mick reached over and caressed Kaori's chin while staring into her eyes. Kaori's mind told her to stop listening to him, to stop letting him touch her that way, but she found herself frozen in place, unable to speak._

"_Trust is important in a partnership, as I am sure you'll agree," Mick added. "And it looks to me as if perhaps Ryo does not trust you as much as you might think he does. Quite frankly, I think it's inexcusable. A woman like you deserves so much more than that."_

_Mick then leaned down, his lips puckered and his eyes closing, clearly intent on kissing her. Kaori felt her heart and her mind race as she tried to make sense of what was happening and of everything that Mick was telling her. For a moment, some dark corner of her mind told her that she deserved to feel attractive and desirable and that she enjoyed having someone as handsome and as attentive as Mick notice her. _

_But before he could kiss her, Kaori's heart made a statement of its own, and that statement was not only strong and insistent, it overrode everything else her mind was grappling with. Less than a second later, a hammer materialized in her hands, and she brought it squarely down on Mick's head. _

"_Ouch," Mick groaned as he rubbed a fresh lump on his head and picked himself up from the floor. "What in the world….?"_

"_I'm sorry, Mick, but you need to leave," she said, turning away from him. "Now." Mick was about to protest, but Kaori glanced back at him, and the look in her eyes along with the fact that she was still holding the hammer in her hands was enough to stop him. _

"_All right, all right, I'll go, but I will be stopping by here again tomorrow afternoon," he said, backing out of the room. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Kaori. That was not my intent. I just want you to think carefully about what your partnership with Ryo really means."_

_Mick then left without another word, and Kaori stood there in the basement for several long minutes before she was able to move again._

* * *

Kaori wiped some more tears away from her eyes as she finished replaying the incident with Mick in her mind. After thinking about it for a while, it occurred to her that Mick might have his own reasons for the things he was doing, reasons that were hidden, despite his attempts to seem transparent.

But even this realization could not change the truth behind Mick's words or change the fact that what Ryo had done with her brother's gun without her knowledge was the basis of an elaborate lie, a lie that Ryo had continued to perpetuate toward her for years.

'_Why did Ryo tamper with aniki's gun?' _she asked herself countless times that evening. '_I thought that when he gave it to me, he was entrusting me with aniki's position and duties within City Hunter. Instead he lied to me by giving me a gun that doesn't even work.'_

The more she brooded over it, the more her confusion gave way to anger and feelings of betrayal.

'_How many hours did I spend down in that basement training to get better at shooting?' _she thought. '_And Ryo knew that no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't get any better because of what he had done with my gun. Did he enjoy watching me struggle fruitlessly like that? Was it a game to him? Did he enjoy watching me make a fool out of myself every time I shot that gun in an attempt to help him or protect one of our clients?'_

The end result of all these thoughts had been a convoluted tangle of rage at Ryo's lies, sorrow that she no longer felt valued or trusted as Ryo's partner, and fear over the direction their relationship was taking. These emotions finally found their outlet last night when they spilled out during her confrontation with Ryo, and now Kaori wasn't entirely sure how she felt or what she should do at this point.

The only thing she was sure of was that she could not continue on in her partnership with Ryo this way. She could not live any longer with the nagging sense that she was merely a secretary, a maid and a convenient standby for Ryo's mokkori urges. The problem, however, was that Kaori did not know anymore if Ryo saw their partnership and relationship the same way she did, and for that matter, what exactly it was that she wanted instead.

Kaori leaned forward and rested her forearms on her knees while pulling her legs closer to her chest. Deep down, she knew that she was continuing to grapple with her own lack of self-confidence and with the persistent idea that perhaps the only reason they were together now was because she had practically browbeaten him into this relationship by violently thwarting his attempts to get physically or romantically involved with other women.

'_It's not like I gave him a whole lot of options other than to be with me,' _she mused glumly. '_Maybe he actually did fall in love with one of those other women, but then I got in his way.'_

Kaori put her face into her hands. Thinking about why she had acted that way whenever he showed any interest in another woman reminded Kaori of the simple truth that she had loved Ryo…and that she still did, even with everything that had happened recently between them.

Kaori moved her hands away and slowly got out of bed. It was tempting to bury herself under her blankets and try to avoid confronting the situation she was in, but she knew that it wasn't realistic or healthy. She made her way up the stairs and walked into the front room of Ryo's floor to find him sprawled out on the couch again, snoring.

She started to walk toward him when a flicker of light on the floor caught her attention. She walked over to see the broken remnants of a bottle on the floor and a faint stain of whiskey on the wall. She looked over at Ryo again and noted an empty glass on the floor next to him and the awkward way he was sleeping. It didn't take long for Kaori to figure out that Ryo had gotten drunk last night and had passed out or to realize that, even though he was asleep, he wasn't really getting any rest.

It was then that Kaori remembered that Ryo was also grappling with his own inner demons and that, just like her, he was trying to battle them alone.

'_I was the one, who tried to convince him that we are stronger together than we are apart,' _she mused. '_And yet here we are: both of us trying to work through all our pain, all our sorrow, all of these conflicts and burdens by ourselves, the both of us unwilling and unable to trust each other.'_

'_Does Ryo trust me anymore?'_

'_Can I still trust him?'_

Kaori felt another stray tear fall down her face, but she brushed it aside and took a deep breath in an effort to stop more tears from coming. She then grabbed the blanket that she had left on the couch from the night before last and gently covered Ryo with it. Kaori fetched a broom and dustpan and quietly swept up the broken glass before getting a cloth and some cleaning solution to wipe off the alcohol from the wall. She picked up Ryo's glass off the floor and headed toward the kitchen, pausing for a moment to gingerly stroke his forehead a couple of times. She then stared down at his sleeping face for a minute before walking away.

After a few minutes of cooking, Kaori had managed to whip up a quick breakfast of ham and eggs with some toast and coffee. She walked out of the kitchen to set out some plates onto the table for them and was startled to see Ryo sitting up on the couch, staring at her.

"Ryo," she breathed. "I…I made you some breakfast. I'll go get it."

Ryo nodded wordlessly, and Kaori stumbled back into the kitchen. Once she was there, she took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. She picked up the platters of food and walked out to find Ryo sitting at the table, silently waiting for her. After pouring both of them some coffee, she sat down to join him, and they ate without talking.

Toward the end of their meal, Kaori found that she could not stand this silence any longer. She felt her face grow red as she cleared her throat.

"Ryo," she murmured. "I…I'm sorry. For what I said last night."

"It's all right," Ryo sighed. "You were angry. I don't blame you."

Kaori was about to breathe a sigh of her own in relief, but then she dared to glance up at his face. She could tell that her apology had not had the desired effect of lifting his spirits or easing his troubled demeanor in the least. Instead, he appeared to be passively accepting her apology while showing no sign that he felt like he had been forgiven.

"I need to go let Saeko know about the information I've been able to dig up so far in Shinjuku, and I'll be chasing down some more leads after that," he continued. "So, I probably won't be home for most of today either. You could do me a favor and do some checking into the groups who hold the deeds to these properties."

Ryo pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Kaori, who immediately started to study it.

"There are a lot of rumors about criminal activities at all of these places," Ryo added. "Some of it is probably the usual gossip and small-time drug, prostitution, or gambling operations, but there is a chance that one of these places might have something or someone far more serious connected to it."

"I'll check the board and then I'll be sure to work on it," Kaori nodded.

"Thank you," Ryo nodded. "I'll go take a quick shower and go. I might stop by later this afternoon for a bit to see what you've found out."

He shoved the last of his food into his mouth and washed it down with the rest of his coffee. He then stood up and started to head up toward the bathroom, but Kaori jumped up from her seat and ran over to stand in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked. Kaori's face turned a deep shade of red and her hands trembled.

"Ryo, I…."

She hesitated, looking for the right words to say. She then reached up and placed her hands onto Ryo's face, her palms caressing his cheeks, before arching up to kiss him. At first, he remained frozen and didn't respond to what she was doing, but a couple seconds later, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, his eyes closing and his hands stroking her back. Once their lips parted, Kaori let her head drop down against his chest.

"Ryo, be careful today," she whispered. "And if you need anything from me…anything at all…." Ryo took a deep breath and planted a kiss to her forehead before letting her go.

"I will see you later," he said. He then walked up the stairs to get cleaned up and changed. Kaori watched him walk away, her fingers brushing over her lips.

'_Ryo…if you did need someone, would you actually come to me? Or do you still not trust me that way? Am I really your partner now in all things?'_

'_Was I ever really your partner before?'_

* * *

Over at the Cat's Eye café, Miki, Umibozu, and Kasumi were sitting at a table sharing some tea. The three of them had just opened the café and had already finished the morning chores, so they decided to take a short break to discuss recent events in their lives and in the lives of their friends.

"Falcon, to be honest, I'm worried about Saeba-san and Kaori-san," Miki said as she sipped at her tea. "Kaori-san hasn't been in here ever since that argument she had with Reika-san."

"I can't believe Reika-san said that," Kasumi pouted. "She acts like she's the only one who cared about Saeba-san that way."

"Oh, you mean like you, for example," Miki smiled at her. Kasumi's cheeks became a faint red color, and she took a long gulp of her tea.

"Anyway, it wasn't a nice thing to say to her at all," Kasumi replied. "Kaori-san is always trying to help everyone out. Reika-san had no right to imply that she's boring or plain."

"Agreed," Miki nodded. "The problem is, I don't know if Saeba-san will know how to help Kaori-san realize that Reika-san was wrong. He's not really the best at that kind of thing."

"That's for sure," Kasumi said. "Maybe one of us should tell him how he should really talk to a woman."

"I think another man would be better suited to explain that to him," Miki sighed.

"Hey, Umibozu-san," Kasumi smiled. "Maybe you could…."

"Kasumi, don't even think about it," Umibozu stammered. "That's…that's not my line of work at all."

"But Umibozu-san," Kasumi said. "You and Miki-san seem to…."

"No way. Forget it," Umibozu blurted out, his face turning scarlet. "Besides, that idiot is incapable of learning anything other than how to be an even bigger pervert."

"I suppose you're not really wrong there," Kasumi sighed, putting her chin on the back of her hand.

"Speaking of Saeba-san, I'm actually a little worried about him too," Miki continued. "Especially after what you told me yesterday, Falcon."

"It is weird that Saeba-san didn't notice someone following him," Kasumi agreed. "Maybe it has something to do with that woman you two were telling me about earlier. That Ayako Jinguji? Is she really related to Saeba-san?"

"We don't know anything other than what we overheard here yesterday," Miki responded. "But I suppose it's possible that Saeba-san's birth family was finally able to track him down after all these years."

"I can't imagine not knowing anything about your family growing up," Kasumi said as she looked down into her teacup. "I grew up in the same house with my family and with most of my extended family. Even though I don't see them much these days, I know that they're still thinking about me." She then looked up at Miki with concern in her eyes.

"I guess you know better what it's like Miki-san," she said. "I mean, you said you grew up as an orphan, right?"

"I did," Miki said. "But based on what I've heard, I was older than Saeba-san when I lost my parents, so I still remember them. And besides, Falcon was there to take care of me and help me learn to survive, so I wasn't really alone. Not like how Saeba-san was."

Miki placed her hand on Umibozu's forearm, and Umibozu turned an even darker shade of red while steam drifted up off the top of his head. Kasumi put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. Her laughter immediately stopped, however, when she thought again about what Miki had just said about Ryo.

"Didn't you say that Bloody Mary's father was there to take care of him, Umibozu-san?" Kasumi asked.

"I know that her father trained him and was his first partner in the professional world," Umibozu replied. "From what I could gather, he was Ryo's mentor and friend, but I don't know if it was the same as what Miki is describing with us."

"Not the same?" Kasumi echoed.

"He means that it wasn't like us with the way we grew to love each other," Miki said, ignoring Umibozu's violent twitching in response to her words. "And that Mary's father might not have treated Saeba-san like he was his family. To be honest, I don't know if Saeba-san has ever had anyone in his life who was family to him."

"How sad," Kasumi said as she looked back down at the table. "I guess it makes sense that Saeba-san might not be feeling like himself now his family has finally shown up."

"And that may be the point," Umibozu frowned. "Perhaps this woman is merely a decoy or a distraction to throw him off his game so that an opponent can gain the advantage. From what I have seen so far, it appears to be working."

"You're right," Miki nodded. "After all, we don't know for sure if this woman is telling the truth. She might be working with someone. And even if she isn't, she might be mistaken and one of Saeba-san's enemies might be taking advantage of the situation."

"We should warn him," Kasumi said.

"No, that won't work," Umibozu frowned again. "We don't know anything for sure. And chances are, Ryo won't listen to us anyway. He'll try to brush it off so he can continue to handle it by himself."

"So what should we do?" Kasumi asked.

"First and foremost, I think we should try to find out the truth about this Ayako Jinguji," Miki answered. "We need to see what she is up to and what she is doing when she's not visiting with Saeba-san."

"Hey, I've got an idea," Kasumi said. "You said that you heard her mention the hotel she is staying at, right? Well, how about I go find her there and follow her and find out what she is doing?"

"Kasumi-san, are you sure about this?" Miki said. "It could be dangerous."

"Don't worry," Kasumi assured her. "You know, I am still a member of the Aso thieving family. I'm an expert at following people and evasion, and I've even been able to hide from Saeba-san in the past. From what you've said, she's not really a professional, so there's no way she'll know that I'm following her."

"I suppose you're right," Miki said. "It probably would be a good place to start. At least then we might know what is really going on with her so that we can plan accordingly."

Miki then gave Kasumi the name and address of the hotel she knew Ayako was staying at, and Kasumi took off her apron and headed toward the door.

"I'll let you know what I find out," Kasumi said as she dashed out.

"All right, be careful," Miki said.

* * *

About three hours later, Kaori showed up in the café, much to Miki's relief.

"Kaori-san, it's good to see you," she said as Kaori sat down on a stool at the counter. "How are you feeling?"

"Hi, Miki-san," Kaori smiled at her. "I'm fine. I've just been busy with the case that we are working on for Saeko-san."

"Ah, I see," Miki said as she sat a cup of coffee in front of her. "And how is that going?"

"Slowly," Kaori sighed. "Ryo was having me research some property holdings that he thought could be suspicious, but the only thing I was able to find of any interest was a group of old warehouses that were bought up by some company that has locations throughout Central America."

"Central America?" Miki said. "That does seem odd, doesn't it? That this company would be interested in a bunch of old warehouses here in Tokyo?"

"It does," Kaori nodded. "And the more I think about it, the more it seemed like that that company itself seemed a little strange. Almost as if it existed more on paper than in real life."

"It could be some kind of shell company," Umibozu nodded. "Constructed to hide something far less legal, like drugs or human trafficking."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Kaori said after taking a sip of her coffee. "Ryo said that these places were rumored to have connections with all kinds of criminal activity. I just hope that this information is something Ryo or Saeko-san can use. The only other thing I was able to accomplish today was finding a message on the board from a possible client."

"Do you think you will meet with them?" Miki asked. "Even though the two of you are working on this case?"

"Well, I don't think we have any room to take on anything else right now," Kaori replied. "But I'll probably meet with them tomorrow anyway just to see what their request is. I mean, with this murderer killing people in Shinjuku, it's entirely possible that this request could have something to do with the case we are working on now. Maybe we could find some new leads. In any case, given how slow business is at times, it's not a bad idea to have some prospective jobs lined up just in case."

Miki nodded in agreement, and Kaori then focused on her coffee, slowly drinking it while she watched Miki and Umibozu tend to the café. Once she was done, Miki put her cup and saucer aside and then leaned against the counter toward her.

"Is there something else on your mind, Kaori-san?" Miki asked. Kaori looked down at the counter silently for a full minute before finally taking a deep breath.

"Miki-san, Umibozu-san, have either one of you heard of a sweeper named Mick Angel?" she asked.

"I have," Umibozu replied. "He is easily the number one sweeper in all of the United States and is considered by many to be one of the best professionals in the world."

"Is he as good as Ryo or you, Umibozu-san?" Kaori asked.

"He is definitely on our level, yes," Umibozu answered. "He has a reputation for being cunning and deliberate as well as highly skilled. With him, there is no wasted movement; every action he takes has a purpose. And he is completely serious about his work. Truly, a professional among professionals."

Umibozu put down the towel and dish that he was holding and moved closer to Kaori.

"Why are you asking about Mick Angel?" he said. "Does Ryo or Saeko think he has something to do with these murders?"

"I, I don't think so, no," Kaori stammered. "But I…I met him a couple days ago. He said that he used to work with Ryo a long time ago and that he was looking for him. He showed up at our place yesterday and said that he would stop by at some point today to see if he could catch up with Ryo."

"Falcon," Miki said. "Could he be the one who is following Saeba-san?"

"He could be," Umibozu nodded gravely. "He certainly has the skills needed to catch someone like Ryo off-guard. It is possible that he is the one Ryo tried to pursue yesterday."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Kaori asked. "Someone is following Ryo? Why? What is going on?"

"We're not sure," Miki said. "But when Saeba-san met with that woman, Ayako Jinguji, here yesterday, someone was following him, and Saeba-san seemed to be practically oblivious to it almost the entire time."

"Someone like Mick Angel should have been able to find and meet with Ryo by now if this was just a social visit from an old partner," Umibozu said. "Instead, he is learning what he can about Ryo by stopping by his place while he is not there and checking up on his partner, possibly to gather information about him and his routines."

"Wait," Kaori said, her eyes growing wide. "You mean…you mean that he's…he's trying to…?"

"It's not definitive," Umibozu frowned. "But these actions have all the markers of someone looking to craft a plan of attack, an attack specifically tailored to fulfill a contract."

"You mean to kill someone," Kaori whispered. She then gasped and put a hand onto her mouth.

"Kaori-san, what is it?" Miki asked.

"Ryo," she said through her fingers. "He said that he was going to drop by our place at some point in the afternoon to see what I had found out…and Mick said that he was going to come by today too."

"Falcon," Miki said, turning to Umibozu. "Do you think…?"

"If he is here to kill Ryo, this would be an excellent time to strike," Umibozu cut in. "Especially since Ryo will be alone, and Mick has already had a chance to study the place when he came by before."

"I have to stop him," Kaori said, leaping up from her chair. She started to dash out of the café when Miki ran out in front of her and grabbed her arm.

"Kaori-san, you can't go there alone," she said. "Not with someone like that after Saeba-san."

"She's right," Umibozu said as he pulled off his apron. "Miki, I'm going to get some things from the basement. You get my jeep ready."

"Yes," Miki nodded as she flung her apron onto a chair and flipped the sign on the door from 'open' to 'closed'. She then placed her hand again on Kaori's shoulder.

"Kaori-san, we're going with you," she said. "And don't worry. This guy might be one of the best professionals, but we both know that Saeba-san is also one of the best. He won't be taken out so easily."

Kaori nodded mutely and watched Miki run out the door to fetch the jeep. As she stood there, all she could think about was what Mick had said to her yesterday.

"_You say he's your partner, but are you sure that you are truly his?"_

"_I just want you to think carefully about what your partnership with Ryo really means."_

'_How could I have been so blind?' _Kaori chastised herself. '_Blind and stupid. Not only did I spill all kinds of information about Ryo to a professional killer without making sure it was all right, I let him into our home and didn't even bother to ask what else he might have been doing there. Even worse, I didn't tell Ryo about any of this.'_

'_And now, Ryo could be walking into a trap…a trap I helped create by keeping things from him, my partner. A partner he is supposed to be able to trust.'_

Kaori shook as the reality of the situation continued to sink in. She wasn't really sure what she could possibly do to stop someone like Mick from harming Ryo, but as she waited for Miki and Umibozu to get ready, one resolution became firm and sacrosanct in her mind.

She would do whatever was necessary to save Ryo…no matter what it might cost her.


End file.
